Dark Side of the Heart
by Fire Inu Princess
Summary: Naruto is a vampire that had been away from humans for so long, keeping to himself on his land and drinking the blood of animals so he could stay alive. After losing his true love he blamed himself for her death and thought that he could never love again. But now five hundred years later a woman that looks just like his past lover comes into his life but can he keep her safe?
1. Chapter 1

_How many years has it been since I've locked myself away? How many moons have passed since I've lost her, had her taken away from my life? The nights I've been in this place, I've never seen the sun, nor have seen its wonderful rays of life as it shined upon these lands of Konoha. But, since I've lost the one that I held dear to my heart… to my soul, the light in my life just faded along with her as she disappeared from this world._

_Every day, I'm thinking about her… thinking about what I could have done to have kept her safe, to keep her alive. Yet, no matter what I would think of, nothing would come to mind and I would end up feeling nothing more than more guilt over her death. Maybe, I am meant to be alone, not to be in love with anyone that wasn't what I was… and meant to go back to my true nature. My true nature… heh… I haven't thought about my real nature for a very long time, least, not since I've met her. Trying to be something that I wasn't…_

_But to her, that didn't matter for I was a human in her eyes even if I really wasn't. For, I was something that humans fear… that people curse and try to destroy. And, I am of myths and legends._

_I am a vampire._

A young man was wondering around the halls of his mansion home. It had long since been abandoned since he started staying here after her death. No one dares come near this place for it seems… least to the humans to be 'haunted'. He couldn't help but laugh at this but at the same time, he was lonely. Running a hand through his hair he sighed softly, blue eyes shining with sadness that he had kept buried deeply into his non-beating heart.

Walking down the halls, listening to the soft sounds of crickets echoed through the halls. The only kinds of friends that he had left besides the strange talking fox that comes to visit him now and again. But even that, wasn't enough to make the young man smile. Sighing softly, he traced his fingers on his pale skin, he could slightly feel the three whisker marks on his cheek, something he doesn't remember how he had them, wither he was born with them or they showed up after his transformation… he couldn't be sure for he couldn't remember… it had just been so long.

Walking past a mirror, the young man could only see floating clothes and just laughed dryly to himself. Thanks to him being a vampire he has no reflection… His robes were a loose fitting kimono with an open outer and inner robe that showed off his chest. Least, he knew it did… The outer robe was black while the inner robe was red… To add to his clothes were long red gloves that only wrapped themselves around his middle finger and just clung around the back of his hand and a strap wrapping around his palm.

Frowning, the young blonde haired man wondered what he could do for the day, maybe just sit around, read or even try to play the piano. He couldn't really say, it seemed that anything he did was just… repeating himself over and over again. Maybe he was just bored because he was hungry for fresh human blood and tired of drinking the blood of animals. That was the only thing he could think of that would make at least some sense to him.

Just about to leave the room, he heard a tapping on the window. Frowning, he turned around and saw a small red fox with nine tails, and long rabbit ears. He had always thought that it was a little weird for him to not drink the blood of this animal but for the time being, he was his only friend. Taking a deep breath he walked over to the window and unlocked the hatch before opening it. "What do you want Kurama?" asked the young man.

"I am hurt Naruto. I come by to check up on you and this is how you greet me?" said the small fox before jumping into the house and padding his way to the arm chair that resided in the room. Naruto just shook his head as he walked over to him, his eyes narrowed into slits before picking up the fox by the scruff of his neck.

Glaring at the small fox, he calmly said "unless you have a damn good reason for being here, I suggest that you tell me right now before I drain you."

"Come on Naruto, we both know that you wouldn't drink my blood. I'm the only one you can really talk to."

"Shut up."

Shaking his head, Naruto dropped the fox and started to wonder down the halls after leaving the main room. Maybe it was better that he was left alone with his thoughts. After all, there was nothing left for him but to keep on living his life like this. Sighing softly, Naruto walked down the halls, looking out the windows of his home, trying to clear his thoughts… to clear his thoughts of her.

Giving a sad smile, Naruto just tilted his head downward as he thought about her… _'I should have protected you better… I should have pushed you away from me then maybe you would have lived a full life.'_ he thought to himself, unable to shed any tears for her. Crying wouldn't bring her back, he knew that but still… it didn't stop from hurting any less. Running a hand through his hair, he whispered "how sad, a vampire crying over someone… when we are not to have any hearts in the first place." Sure, he wasn't really crying but he might as well be…

Yawning, Naruto noticed that day break was coming; he would have to hurry up and get into his coffin before he burned to ash. Laughing to himself, the young man hurried through the shadows of his mansion to the basement, the only place he could trust to put his coffin into with no risks of being burned. Naruto remembered when he would just keep a bed in his home, blocking the windows with wooden planks so he could hold her in his arms, feeling warmth that he hadn't felt since he woke up as a vampire…

Rubbing his eyes, the young man opened the coffin before crawling on into it and curling up to sleep. Just wanting to relax and try to sleep… maybe he could find himself to relax for the time being. Though, he couldn't be sure if he would be able to sleep today. He just couldn't be sure if he would be able to sleep much if at all with him having trouble sleeping for the past five hundred years. Before he knew it, his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep.

_Naruto opened his eyes as he frowned in confusion. Why was he back here? No, it couldn't be this nightmare again. The same one that had prevented him from sleeping in his coffin, the same memory that has haunted him for so long. Looking around Naruto tried to think… maybe he had been transported to the past and he had a chance to change it! But, if that was the case where was she? Where could she be if this was his past?_

_Suddenly, the smell of blood hit him like a ton of bricks._

_Eyes widening, he rushed through the trees that once surrounded the town, before it was built. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be! There was no way that it could be happening already! There was just no way that she could be dead already! He was brought back to his past wasn't he? To stop this event from happening over and over and over again! Pupils turning into slits from his anger, he rushed through the trees faster, trying to focus all of his strength within his body to hurry up, hoping that he still had a chance to save her. Narrowing his eyes in anger, Naruto hoped that whoever was doing this would die a slow and painful death._

_The shadows of trees were rushing by him with his blinding speed, the only upside to him being a vampire. Well, that and the fact that he wasn't winded or risk having to slow down but again, that was the plus side to being a vampire he didn't have to breathe thanks to him being of the undead. Looking at his surroundings, Naruto wondered why the trees were red, and smelled like blood. This didn't happen last time, there… no was this really a nightmare? No he didn't want to see this again!_

_Naruto tried to stop, but it seemed that his body didn't want to listen to him. It was acting of its own accord instead of him. Cursing, it seemed that Naruto would have to just play this out… and be tormented with the pure memory of his agony._

_Slowly, Naruto started to come to a halt when he entered an opening. He assumed that it was the heart of the forest. Frowning, he looked around wondering why he was here… this wasn't the same place where she died… he knew that and yet here he was. And standing on the other side was the woman he loved deeply. Though what he couldn't believe was who was standing with the woman he loved deeply. Standing next to her, was himself. Why that was, he couldn't really understand but possibly a way to torment him further._

_His other self held onto the woman he loved in his arms. Her hair black as the night sky, her eyes sparkling like the greatest and rarest of pearls, and finally her skin was smooth as the finest of silks. It was one of the few things that he loved about her, but of course there was also her soul that he loved deeply about her._

_She just stood there in her white kimono as his other self held her, his head bent down at her neck. Naruto tried to move, he tried to reach her… tried to save her. But it seemed his feet were firmly planted to the ground causing him to scream and cry out to her. But, he could only watch. Her skin growing pale, her body starting to become weak and limp in the other Naruto's arms. He knew what he was doing… the other Naruto was draining her of blood. No! This can't be happening! Naruto soon fell to his knees, punching the ground as he kept begging for this all to stop._

_"You can never win Naruto… so long as you live, you will have this memory go through your mind. You should have stuck to being what you are." Said a voice, causing Naruto to look up and stare at his other self in shock. For unlike the person he was, this man had red eyes, his fangs dripping with human blood. This Naruto was a monster that didn't care about the lives of humans and would just keep drinking and drinking until he killed his victim. "I'm not like you!" shouted Naruto._

_"You are me… as I am you. You are a monster, you drink human blood and you are to kill them. No matter what, you can never escape for who you are. You're a vampire and that is who you'll always be." Shouted the other Naruto, only for him to start laughing like a mad man. Naruto screamed, his nightmare turning dark._

Naruto's eyes had snapped open, sitting up quickly only to smack his head into the coffin's lid. Cursing loudly, Naruto growled as he said "fucking damn it! That hurts like a bitch!" Rubbing his forehead, the blonde haired man pushed open the coffin before getting himself out. Closing his eyes, he sensed that the sun at set… that was some nightmare that was for sure.

Shaking his head, Naruto started to walk up the stairs, wondering if there were any wild animals out here today. Maybe he fell asleep because he hadn't had any blood for the last few days, if he was lucky he'd have a nice bite to eat for today. Though, he highly doubted that would be the case… Running a hand through his hair, the young man tried to think on what kind of animal he felt like tonight. Maybe Kurama would go and get one for him.

Looking off to the left, Naruto's half closed eyes were focused on his surroundings, as was his ears. The grey brick surrounded him as he wondered up the stairs to the main floor… the sound of skin slapping against stone echoed through his ears, it was a strange sound that was for sure. Shaking his head, the young man wondered what he was to do now… he knew that he'd have to sit around while he would wait for his meal to arrive but damn it he had read all of his books, and scrolls twice!

Just as he got to the top step, Naruto heard something… voices. Narrowing his blue eyes, he ran to the nearest window that would stare out front… standing there at the gates he saw a group of girls. He couldn't really tell what they looked like or what they were wearing for the most part since he was still half asleep and his vision was blurred to be staring from a distance. But he knew they were women from the sounds of their voices.

Closing his eyes, he tried to listen a little more carefully; it seemed that one was daring someone into… into his home?! Eyes snapping open, Naruto's pupils turned into slits as his fangs grew out and started to overlap his lower lip. This was going to end up bad, he just knew it… He just knew that this was going to just end up being a bad night for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

_I didn't expect to go anywhere scary looking… I had just started to work at the café and tried to fit in. But, apparently there is some kind of initiation or something to be accepted by the other staff. Though what I had heard on what I had to do, I almost fainted from shock. Everyone knows the stories of the mansion at the top of the hill. It had been there since Konoha was first built but it's been left alone for so long that it was forgotten… least, to most people it had been forgotten._

_But, to this day no one had gone in for there have been stories that the outline of a man had been seen through the window…_

_Though, I was dared to prove that wrong… all for the sake of acceptance… Was I just crazy or really just wanting to be accepted for the first time in my life? Though, what I didn't expect, was to meet someone… something, that I had thought was always a legend… a fable…_

It was a beautiful day; a young woman didn't know how her first day of work was going to be… She had heard that there was some kind of test that all the new members had to do but she didn't know if that was true. Shrugging, the young woman grabbed a black hair tie and tied her long blue hair at the nape of her neck allowing two locks of her hair to fall over her shoulders.

Her lavender coloured eyes looked up at the simple looking café. She knew that it was nice inside from what she had seen of this place. Frowning, she tilted her head to the side before gently tugging at the sleeves of her lavender coloured blouse and dusting her knee length black skirt. To complete her outfit was long black socks that reached just a little past her knees and matching black dress shoes. It was a strange outfit but to her, she thought that it worked.

Shaking her head, the young woman walked toward the café and looked around the room. Not sure if she should be happy, scared or even excited. There was no telling what could happen but the young woman didn't complain or she had refused to complain. Either way, she was just happy to have a good job that she could use for her dream home. Smiling brightly, she walked on into the building and took a deep breath as she hoped that today would end up being okay. Though, there was really no way of knowing how today would be without trying now wouldn't it?

As she stepped into the café, the blue haired woman noticed how everyone chatted; enjoying the time they had with the people they sat with. It seemed that they really did enjoy the kind atmosphere here. Though, that had been to be expected since this place was very popular.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman walked to the back, grabbed her name tag which was a small golden bar with 'Hinata' written in cursive in black lettering. As was her apron though, her apron was black with gold writing just like her name tag. Shaking her head, the young woman walked out of the back and went to start her training for today.

Hinata had been paired up with a woman with long black hair and black eyes. She seemed kind, but she could feel the hostility flowing from her in waves. This was going to be a scary day that was for sure. Though, from what Hinata could gather, she saw that some of the other workers looked a little nervous by this woman, almost as if this blacked woman intimidates them in some way or another. Ah well, right now Hinata was focused on trying to get her training done and out of the way so she could earn her own wage and earn an honest living.

Though, as she had trained the young woman had been tripped, someone misplaced her little booklet to take orders… and someone had given her the wrong orders to embarrass her. It was as if someone was trying to get her fired and that was something she couldn't handle right now. It had just been hard enough for her to have gotten this job, there was no way that she could lose it!

But what made this all worse was when she was working at the cash. She was trying to get it open and someone pushed her to the point where she had hit her head on the cash register. Though, when Hinata had touched her forehead, she whimpered when she saw some blood on her fingertips. "Hey you okay?" said a new voice, filled with concern. Hinata looked up and saw a woman with short pink hair and emerald green eyes staring down at her. The uniform was similar to Hinata's but this woman's had a red blouse instead of a lavender coloured one. Though, that was the only difference. Looking at the name tag, Hinata saw that this woman's name was Sakura.

"I'm okay… just… a bump on my head." Hinata said with a bit of a whimper. Though, Sakura just shook her head and helped Hinata up to stand on her feet and helped her to the back office for the first-aid kit. Sakura got Hinata to sit down before she started to look for the first aid-kit. "You don't need to worry…" Hinata whispered gently, though she had to admit her head hurt pretty bad right now.

Sakura turned to stare at Hinata as she said "just keep your eyes open okay? I need you to relax…" She then started to tend to Hinata's head and frowned a little. Hinata wondered if it was worse than she thought it was. It was a little strange to have a complete stranger tending to her but at the moment; it couldn't be all that bad right? Sakura grabbed some proxy for her wound and of course the bandages to cover it up. Though, it was hard to say if that would be enough for her forehead. But, maybe at the moment that was all they could do for it unless it was a lot worse than it really was. If that was the case, then Hinata would have to go to the hospital.

"I'm sorry if this is all I can do Hinata…"

"How did you…"

"Your name tag helps."

"Oh…"

Sakura just smiled and left Hinata for a second before going to grab something for her… Hinata tilted her head for a moment and stared at the bottle of apple juice. She did have a sudden craving for something sweet but it must have been caused by the shock of her head being slammed into the register… now that she thought about it, Hinata looked up at Sakura as she asked "who… pushed me?" Sakura stared at Hinata for a moment, as if trying to think of a good way to tell her. Tell her what, she didn't know but had a feeling that she should know the answer…

"Mia pushed you… she's been trying to get rid of you all day." The pink haired woman said with a sigh before putting everything back into the first-aid box. Though, it didn't stop the shock that appeared on her face. Her trainer had been trying to get rid of her? Maybe they had gotten off on the wrong foot or so… there had to be a reason for Mia to be mean to her right?

"Maybe it was just an accident…" said Hinata with a frown.

"Hinata, Mia does that to everyone, or anyone that she thinks gets in her way of being number one in this place. Just avoid her at all costs okay?" said Sakura, hoping that Hinata would stay away from Mia. Though, Hinata just waved her hand and just smiled as if nothing was wrong. Or that she didn't seem to get the hint that Mia was of any threat to her and just started to walk off after finishing her apple juice. It seemed that Sakura's warning didn't stick to her mind. Not in the least, and this had caused the pink haired woman to worry all the more for Hinata.

Hinata worked through the whole day as if nothing had happened or that anything was wrong with her. Though, she did stay away from Mia to allow the woman to calm down thinking that her actions were due to having to train a newbie. But nothing more than that, though she knew at some point she would have to talk to Mia at some point such as for her checks when the boss wasn't around. Though, otherwise she was allowed to avoid her at all costs.

Hinata was happy and cheerful the rest of the day, ignoring people's worried comments about her forehead and when a customer would ask, she would just say that she 'tripped and hit her head' for she didn't want to worry anyone else than she already did.

When she was starting to pack up for the day, Hinata had her night planned out. _'Going to sit on a couch and read a nice book. That sounds fun.' _Hinata thought with a bright smile on her face as she was untying her apron and hung it up. Though, to be on the safe side, she hid her apron making sure that no one was around to see where it was. Yawning, the young woman grabbed her jacket and started to head on out until a voice had stopped her.

"Hinata, I want to speak to you." Said Mia with a bright smile on her face. She couldn't tell if it was fake or a real genuine smile, either way she was a little worried about getting hurt again. But, Hinata walked over to Mia and tilted her head as she waited to listen to what this black haired woman had to say. Mia just kept her smile in place as she said "I'm really sorry for all that's happened today. How about you come with me and my friends tonight? I want to give you one last test to see if you can handle being a waitress here." Hinata just raised an eyebrow but frowned a little… what kind of test would be involved just to see if she could handle being a waitress?

"Um… okay… what is it?" asked Hinata, a little curious as to what this so called test could be. Mia just smiled and grabbed Hinata's hand before walking out of the café. All the young woman could think was _'this cannot be good…'_

"Me and my friends all went through this same thing, and we all became better waitresses because of it. And of course, we want you to be the best you can be Hinata, so all you have to do… is go into the old abandoned mansion that resides on the hill in Konoha." Said Mia with a big smile on her face.

* * *

Hinata looked up at the old looking mansion and frowned a little. How it was that old and still standing while staying in good shape, she'll never know. But, what Hinata did know was that she was being told that this place had some kind of magic properties that gave everyone the skills to be a better waitress. _'How that works I'll never know, there is no way that it can be true…'_

"Just go in, grab something from inside and not only will you be better at being a waitress but you'll even be a member of our group." Said Mia with a smile.

Hinata looked up and sighed. She didn't want to do this, but at this rate she knew that if she didn't go in that there was a chance that she would be called coward all the time or her attacks would get even worse to the point of getting fired. Least, that's what she was thinking… But, maybe it would also help her with her own fears and… this may be the only chance that she had to help her get over her fears. Taking a deep breath, Hinata started to walk on inside the room hoping to get herself to calm down… she started to walk up the walkway, her heart beating quicker and quicker the closer she got to the mansion, it was amazing that her heart hadn't burst from her chest yet.

She knew that there were risks with this building, such as it could fall on top of her at any given moment. But, the young woman kept on going… nothing was going to stop her. Hinata knew, that this was her only chance to get over her fears of old mansions… this may be the only time she'd ever go into one and this was a chance that she was going to take.

The soft sound of her shoes hitting the cement echoed through the silence of the night, least, the sound was intertwined with the sound of her heart beating wildly in her chest.

Once she walked up to the porch, Hinata slowly gripped the door knob and opened the woodened oak door and started to make her way inside. Though, what she hadn't expected was to see that… the house was cleaner than it should be if no one's been in here for hundreds of years. Shrugging, the young woman started to walk around the house, tightly holding a flashlight in her hand. A nasty habit of hers, she would always have a flashlight in her purse if she was ever out late at night. She blamed all of those horror movies from when she was a kid.

Gulping, the young woman wandered down the halls, looking from her left and right as she wondered what could possibly be in here. It just seemed like a normal looking house to her, and that whoever lived here before had cleaned it out of anything that once belonged to them. Well, that or the girls that have been in here before took everything and ran out of here as fast as they could.

Suddenly, something sparkled in the side of her vision. Turning, Hinata saw a room; it almost looked like a woman's room. Tilting her head, the young woman walked into the bedroom, being careful not to fall through the floor boards as she slowly made her way further… and further inside. The room looked like it's still perfectly preserved, like it hadn't been touched by whoever slept in here for a long time. And yet, it still looked so very clean and sterile. Shaking her head, Hinata slowly made her way to the nightstand and slowly lifted the shining object into her hand.

It was a gold heart shaped locket…

_'I'm amazed that this is still here… I thought someone would have taken it…'_ Hinata thought to herself in confusion. It was a strange thing that this looked like it was still brand new. Shrugging, she tried to open it, wondering what could be inside… there was no way that this thing could be sealed tight right? Someone to have taken such good care of it for it to be this shiny…

"You shouldn't open what does not belong to you." Said a voice, causing Hinata to jump from shock and whipping around to face the source of this voice. Standing at the door way was a tall muscular man. His hair a bright blonde that was in a spiky style, eyes blue as the ocean, his skin a pale tan colouring… on his cheeks were three whisker marks, which made her wonder if those are birthmarks, scars or something else… what, she couldn't really be sure. His robes are a loose fitting kimono with an open outer and inner robe that showed off his chest which almost made Hinata blush. The outer robe was black while the inner robe was red… To add to his clothes were long red gloves that only wrapped themselves around his middle finger and just clung around the back of his hand and a strap wrapping around his palms.

_'What a handsome man…'_ thought Hinata, before shaking her head and setting down the locket. She felt bad for breaking into his home but… the way he was staring at her made her freeze in her spot. His glare seemed unwelcome, unwanted. Like he hated people just being within his home. Not that she couldn't blame him, for if she was in his situation, then she would also be angry if someone had just gone into her home. Wait, wasn't this house supposed to be abandoned?

Gulping, Hinata took a step back as she tried to get herself to calm down. But it seemed that with her being limited with room, she didn't have much of a choice on where she can or could go. The only way out was the door way which was blocked by the blonde haired man. Hinata tried to get herself to calm down, her heart beating quickly and she felt like she was going to pass out but dared not to risk that… But, maybe she had to take the risk with going around him.

Rushing forward, Hinata slid on the floor and slid under him before running off and down the hall. Though, her palm had been scrapped from her hand scrapping against the wooden floor and started to make a mad dash for it. She had to get away… she just had to keep running and get the hell out of here before it was too late to leave. For all she knew, this guy could be some kind of masked murderer but without the mask.

Running as fast as she could, Hinata tried to remember where the door was. This guy could be holding a knife and he was going to kill her! Just as she made a sharp turn around the corner, Hinata slipped and fell, her body sliding into the table and an old vase fell on her head, causing her head to bleed again. The blonde man had followed her easily, to her that was amazing… how he had been able to do that, it was a shock to her. His face was cold and emotionless as he said "I want you out of my house! I don't want you here! You are at-" he stopped, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of her blood… least, that's what she thought he was in shock over.

His eyes started to look a little different… instead of angry… they seemed almost hungry… _'Dear god I'm going to be raped!'_ thought Hinata with fear in her eyes. Hinata pushed herself up to her feet once more and tried to make a mad dash out of here. But, before she could even get very far, she felt something tackle her from behind.

Crying out from fear and shock, Hinata felt herself being flipped over and staring up into a pair of red eyes… pupils now black slits. The man was looking down at her, and she didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she was scared at what he was going to do. Her heart pounding wildly in her chest as she tried to get away. But he was a lot stronger than he looked that was for sure. When she looked up at him again, Hinata's eyes widened all the more, for she was now looking at a pair of fangs as it shined in the dim light of the full moon that shined through the window.

The man growled for a moment, his fangs over lapping his lower lip as he started to lean forward. Hinata knew what was going to happen; he was going to drain her of all of her blood! Tears started to stream down her face as she struggled. The young woman kept on trying to fight him, to get him off of her and whimpered. Crying out "stop please! Don't bite me I beg of you!" Though, before she could do anything, the young woman felt something biting through her skin, causing her to gasp out in pain.

Only for it to move away from Hinata's neck. She looked up at him for a moment; he stared at her with fear in his own eyes. She didn't know what he was saying, for everything seemed to start to fade from her sight. Before she knew it, Hinata saw total darkness as she passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that she felt some pain in her neck, but couldn't be sure if it was because of work or if that dream she had was real. There was no way that vampires were real, there is just no way that it could be true. There is just no way that she'd been bitten by a vampire. If she had been, there wouldn't be a heart rapidly beating in her chest.

Groaning, the young woman tried to push herself up but, a soft but strong hand pushed her back down. "You shouldn't move yet…You're still in a bit of shock over what happened," whispered a gentle yet familiar voice. Her eyes snapped open, that was the voice of the man that _bit_ her! Looking up, the young woman gasped when she saw a pair of concerned blue eyes staring at her, though she didn't focus on that. Instead, Hinata sat up and backed away from him…only to fall off of the couch. "Hey, be careful! You're still recovering," said the man with worry in his voice.

"Get away from me, you vampire!" Hinata shouted, terrified.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"You bit me!"

"I haven't had human blood for hundreds of years. When you cut your hand I couldn't stop myself. But I stopped before I even drank anything," he said with a sigh before scratching the back of his head. "Though, I did clean your injuries…"

Hinata stared at him in confusion for a moment…He cleaned her wounds? Frowning, she looked down at her hand and saw that it wasn't bleeding anymore. The wound had completely healed…But how was that possible? Looking up at him, the young woman tilted her head at him as she asked "Why? Why did you let me live?" The man sighed before he helped Hinata up onto her feet and got her to sit down before sitting across from her.

He leaned back into his seat, as if trying to figure that out himself…Hinata didn't know why he seemed so defeated, like he was drained of all of his energy. But, what had also confused her was the fact that she hadn't turned into a vampire. The legends say that when bitten you turn into a vampire, so why was she still human?

"I let you live, because I don't believe in killing humans. I drink the blood of animals but…" He looked sad for a moment, only to run a hand through his blond locks. "Human blood still calls to me now and again, and when I smell it, I crave it, and try to get it. I fight the desire as hard as I can. I refuse to give into the craving," he whispered softly only to bury his face into his hands. Hinata felt bad for him, he was a vampire that tried his hardest not to drink human blood…

"How am I not a vampire?" she asked softly.

"I'd have to bite you, and then get you to drink my blood. That's the only way for a human to turn into a vampire. If it was just a bite, there would be vampires everywhere." Hinata nodded. At least that made a little bit of sense. Suddenly, the young woman shot up to her feet and gasped. The girls had to be waiting for her at the door right now! She was about to leave until his voice had stopped her dead in her tracks. "If you're worried about the girls that were outside with you, don't bother…They left the moment you entered my home."

Hinata stared with wide eyes only to look down. A part of her knew that was going to happen, but she had gone in anyway. Taking a deep breath, she curled up on the small couch and said, "I don't know why I believed that she was sorry…" The man frowned at her, pushing himself up and making his way to the couch to sit down next to her, staring at Hinata with concerned eyes. "They said I could be a great waitress if I came in here…but they just left."

"They don't deserve trust. They don't deserve any kind of kindness from you at all. But do not try to seek revenge, for you are above that," he said with a soft smile and a small pat on her shoulder. Hinata looked up at him and frowned in shock. He was trying to comfort her. That was still shocking to her, but at the same time, it made her a little happy that someone cared about her. "May…May I ask what your name is? Mine's Naruto…"

"I'm…I'm Hinata."

"Hinata…That's a…a very nice name," he said with a small smile. Hinata just smiled gently at him, thinking that he was acting like a normal human man. That was amazing, and she had to admit that. But it was still strange to see a vampire acting like he did instead of like how they did in the movies. Though she wasn't complaining. "May I ask though, if you knew they were tricking you, why did you go along with it?"

"A part of me…thought that they really wanted to be nice to me," Hinata whispered gently only to sigh softly. Pushing herself up to her feet, the young woman inhaled deeply as she said "I…I should go. Thank you for treating my injuries, Naruto-kun, but I've burdened you enough." She gave a small smile before heading toward the doorway.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," he whispered softly.

Hinata blinked, and stared at Naruto in shock. She's never had anyone enjoy her company before. Then again, she was dealing with a vampire that didn't like to feed on human blood for some unknown reason. Frowning, she said, "I have to go to work tomorrow. I'm sorry…" He just nodded and walked with Hinata to the door. Since it was still night, he didn't have anything to worry about. Hinata knew that for sure, so that was a plus.

She looked up at him and smiled at him gently. The young woman saw the loneliness in his eyes and knew that he was going to feel so sad and alone. Smiling up at Naruto, she said, "If you want, I can come back tomorrow night…You know, to see how you're feeling." Naruto stared at her with wide eyes for a brief moment. His eyes told her quite clearly that he would enjoy that very much, that that would be the most fun he'd ever had in a very long time.

Though the shock disappeared from his face and turned into a soft expression. Chuckling, he smiled more as he said, "I'd love that Hinata. Thank you…" Hinata smiled at him, happy to see that he liked the idea of her visiting him. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered what the others would ask her if she didn't show up at the café tomorrow without something.

Looking up at him once more, she asked "Think I could have something for a day Naruto? I know it's a lot to ask for but…I just don't want them to think I ran away." Naruto nodded before reaching into his robes and pulling out a locket. It was the one that she had seen before passing out. The young woman just smiled at it before saying 'thank you' to Naruto and leaving. This sure was a weird night, but it had her wondering what tomorrow would bring for her. Would work be all right, or would there be something more?

Oh well, nothing could stop her now!

* * *

"Hinata, I'm so glad that you're okay!" shouted Sakura as she stared at the blue haired woman. Sakura had heard what had happened last night. It seemed that Hinata was okay, though, and that was what mattered the most. Sakura's green eyes suddenly narrowed as she said, "I told you to stay away from her. She's nothing but trouble and could have easily gotten you killed!"

Hinata frowned as she replied, "I'm sorry, but I had thought that…that I should give her a chance." Which was true, Hinata was the kind of person that believed in second chances. But, at the moment there was no way that she would ever give her another chance.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman calmly said, "Believe me Sakura, I won't do it again. I promise." Hinata just gave a small smile before she started to get back to work. At least that was something that didn't change at all. She was still trying to get into her work routine. But Hinata couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Mia ever tried to accuse her of not going through with her test.

Lucky for Hinata, she had an item from the mansion. Which would, or should, be enough to get Mia to leave her alone.

With that in her thoughts, the young woman got back to work…

* * *

"What do you mean the band isn't arriving?!" shouted Mia with a glare, though for a moment, Hinata thought she saw something different about Mia's eyes, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Giving a mental shrug, Hinata calmly told Mia what she had been told over the phone. The band's guitarist was sick, so they couldn't make it. This, of course, only served to piss off the black haired woman all the more. It was really starting to scare Hinata out of her wits. This was going to be a tough day, that was for sure.

What surprised her was the way Mia suddenly smirked at Hinata. This stare, this smile made her uneasy, but she wasn't going to show that. There was no way that she was going to give into what this woman was trying to do. Nothing was going to stop her, that was for sure. "Hinata, you are going to sing for our customers." Hinata almost fell over from shock. Mia wanted _her _to _sing_?!

"But...Why me?!" asked Hinata with slight fear in her voice.

"You were the one to answer their call. You were the one that told them it was fine. Now, it is your problem, understand?! Now get your ass on the stage and get to work. Also, think of this as punishment for bringing that fake locket." With that said and done, Mia started to walk away, leaving a scared and confused Hinata alone with her thoughts. This wasn't going to be good. If she didn't do this, there was a chance of being fired…but if she sang, there could still be a chance of that happening, since she's never sung before.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata tried to get herself to relax and went to the CD rack that was on the wall. There had to be something that she could sing along to. There had to be something, or else she was screwed. Moving CD cases aside, the young woman tried to think of what she could do.

Suddenly, Hinata's eyes landed on a case that had the name of a singer she listened to! This was perfect, right? Shaking her head, the young woman quickly grabbed it and skimmed the back, her eyes falling onto the bottom of the song list. Yup, that was a song that she knew very well. Smiling, Hinata ran up to the stage and placed the CD into the player. Setting in the CD, she grabbed the microphone and blinked when she saw a pair of blue eyes looking at her.

At first, she thought that it was Naruto, but the outfit and hair were different. Not to mention he had no whisker marks on his face. The man had spiky red hair, though his hair was also long and straight at the back. His face was smooth and tanned, and his outfit was a black leather jacket, orange shirt and torn blue jeans. She couldn't tell what kind of shoes he wore, though what she did know was that this wasn't Naruto at all…besides, how could it be when he couldn't come out in the daylight?

Taking a deep breath, the young woman listened to the music as it started to play.

_I know that you're hiding things  
Using gentle words to shelter me  
Your words were like a dream  
But dreams could never fool me  
Not that easily_

Hinata had her eyes closed as she sang this song. She could easily remember this song from when she was a kid. It was her favourite. It brought a bit of peace and calm to her when she was upset. Naturally, she listened to it the most right after she lost her mother.

_I acted so distant then  
Didn't say goodbye before you left  
But I was listening  
You fight your battles far from me  
Far too easily_

When her mother had passed, everything in their family had changed. Her father…he became cold for a while, never wanting to talk about his wife, though she never blamed him for that. Hinata knew that he was only upset because of losing the one person he loved so much.

_"Save your tears, cause I'll come back"  
I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door  
But still I swore  
To hide the pain, when I turn back the pages  
Shouting might have been the answer  
What if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart  
But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart_

When she was young, Hinata used to call out for her mother. Hearing her mother's words saying that she would always come back to her and her family made her feel at ease. But when her mother was sick, there was a sadness in her eyes, as if she was saying that she wasn't going to come back to them this time. That this was the end…

_Though a thousand words  
Have never been spoken  
They'll fly to you  
Crossing over the time  
And distance holding you, suspended on silver wings  
And a thousand words  
One thousand confessions  
Will cradle you  
Making all of the pain you feel seem far away  
They'll hold you forever_

Her mother's wish was to see her family grow up…to see her two daughters get married. That was something that every mother wished to see. To see their family grow up and get married, have children to keep the love going. That was something that would have been a real dream come true. But, that's all it was now, a dream.

_The dream isn't over yet  
Though I often say I can't forget  
I still relive that day  
You've been there with me all the way  
I still hear you say_

Hinata knew that there was at least one person's dream that wasn't over yet. Her father was still alive; he was still around to see their love keep going. That was all he could do now, wasn't it? He had to keep himself happy, he had to make sure that both Hinata and Hanabi were happy…that was his wish, right?

_"Wait for me, I'll write you letters"  
I could see how you stand with your eyes to the floor  
But still I swore  
To hide the doubt when I turn back the pages  
Anger might have been the answer  
What if I'd hung my head and said that I couldn't wait  
But now I'm strong enough to know it's not too late_

As she sang, Hinata looked out to the crowd, and saw tears in their eyes. All but two people had tears in their eyes. Mia and the red haired man. Mia was angry, angry that she could sing so beautifully. The red haired man, though, was happy, and had joy reflected in his blue eyes. Eyes much like Naruto's…That was something that she didn't understand. Eyes like Naruto's were very rare. There was no way this man had them too.

_Cause a thousand words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll fly to you  
Even though we can't see  
I know they are reaching you, suspended on silver wings  
Oh a thousand words  
One thousand embraces  
Will cradle you  
Making all of your weary days seem far away  
They'll hold you forever_

Hinata knew that words were simple things to say. But actions were harder to do. And so, actions speak louder than words. That was something most people didn't know, and they focused more on words than actions. Why could she sing this song so well? Was it because this song reflected the memories she had with her mother?

_Oh a thousand words (a thousand words)  
Have never been spoken (ohh yeah)  
They'll fly to you  
They'll carry you home, (carry you home) and into my arms  
Suspended on silver wings (on silver wings!)  
And a thousand words (ohh)  
Call out through the ages (call through the ages!)  
They'll cradle you (ohh yeah)  
Make all of the lonely years to lonely days (lonely days)  
They'll hold you forever._

Hinata wiped away a few stray tears that fell. When she looked out at the crowd once more, the young woman saw that there were even more people there. Giving one small smile, the young woman felt a little happy that she could bring some joy to these people's lives. That was good enough for her.

_Ohhhhhhhhhhh a thousand words_

Once the song was done, everyone cheered and clapped. Hinata blushed softly and just bowed to them, she didn't think it possible, but she had enjoyed herself. When she looked over to the red haired man once more, she noticed…he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Work sure had been strange today… First, the band doesn't show up and her boss wants her to sing in front of everyone. Then, of course there was that red haired man that was in here earlier. Hinata didn't know what more she was to do now that work was done. She wanted to visit Naruto but her body was just worn out from the double shift she had to do thanks to someone not coming into work.

Yawning, Hinata grabbed her jacket and her purse. Along with her keys for the shop since she had been left with locking up for the night. It made her wonder why she had to lock up when she wasn't even the manager to this place or that high up in work. She was nothing but a waitress and yet she was stuck with closing up the shop. Things were just strange, that was for sure. Sighing softly, the young woman closed the door and locked up the bolt for the door before walking away from the shop.

Maybe she could do something for Naruto tomorrow to make up for not being able to get to his house tonight. There was just no way for her to have gotten to his home without some well needed and deserved sleep.

As she walked through the streets, Hinata tried to keep her thoughts on something else. Not about how she was alone in the streets, cold… frightened. It was so strange to see that a usually busy city was so quiet and dark at night. The shadows swirled, giving some of the objects around the streets creepy and scary shapes.

The soft sound of her heels clicking against the pavement, the sound echoed through the darkness of the streets. Gulping, Hinata rubbed her upper arms hoping to help herself relax, to help her calm down. But it seemed that no matter what she did, that nothing would help her. Nothing would help her relax, it seemed that the longer she was out in the cold, the more nervous and scared she became. Hinata though, wanted to be brave… she wanted to be brave to show that she could easily handle herself just fine.

Gulping, the young woman took a deep breath, hoping to relax a little more. Though, that didn't work either.

"Look what we have here boys." Said a voice causing Hinata to yelp and jump, her face turning to the left as she saw two figures walking toward her.

Hinata felt fear building within her very being. Were these guys going to rape her?! Backing away, the young woman tried to think of she could run away. Sadly, her shoes didn't make running away any easier for her. One of the men grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her back. Hinata tightly held the strap of her purse in her hand before smacking the man in the head with it. His grip had loosened for a brief moment, and that was all Hinata needed to make a mad dash away.

Running as fast as her heels would allow her, the young woman kept on running. Wanting to get as far away as possible. The young woman tried to get away, tried to think on who she could call. Though it would seem that when she smashed her purse against the man had also smashed her cell phone. Cursing to herself, Hinata kept on running. Wanting to get home as quickly as she could or even to her cousin's home, either one would be fine for her!

Running as fast as she could, the young woman tried to think on where she could turn too. She knew the streets like the back of her hand… well, most of them anyway. Looking over her shoulder, the young woman saw that they were chasing her now, one of them looked very angry but Hinata thought that it could have been because she did hit him with her purse.

Turning her gaze ahead of her, the young woman ran faster, her feet hurting her from the heels. It seemed that no matter how fast she ran, her feet would keep hurting her until she had took them off. But, she knew that if she stopped now that she would get caught by them for sure.

Whimpering, Hinata ran, pumping her legs to go faster and hurry up and go on home. She took sharp turns hoping that would get them off of her trail. Though, it seemed that they were a lot smarter than they seemed to be. Damn it! _'I have to get home! I have to get help!' _she thought to herself before shouting for help. No matter how loud she screamed, no matter how sad or pleading her voice was, it seemed that no one could hear her nor did they give a damn about her.

Crying, the young woman tried to keep running, her lungs burned, her chest tightened. It felt like her heart would burst from running so fast. Taking one last turn, Hinata screamed when she saw that it was a dead end. Gasping, the young woman turned around, hoping to get out of this alley in time. Only to stare with wide eyes and pressed her back against the stone wall.

"Looks like the rabbit has gone and got caught in a dead end." Said one of the men.

"Yes… now she can't get away. Looks like we can have our fun after all." Said the other as he licked his lips. Okay, it was official, Hinata was definitely freaked out. They were going to rape her! Screaming, Hinata threw her fist, hoping to catch them off guard. Though, it seemed that wasn't enough to drop it. The men got closer, getting ready to grab Hinata and to what they wanted to do with her.

Hinata backed up more into the wall. Lavender coloured eyes wide with fear, she was scared… what if they didn't just rape her but kill her?!

Frightened, the young woman screamed out "someone! Anyone help me!" Just as she had said that, one of the men grabbed her by the throat. He just smirked and slammed her into the stone wall. Hinata let out a small gasp of pain, her vision starting to blur from the pain that coursed through her system. The last thing she saw, were the two men smirking at her and for a new person to jump into the alley… she blacked out after that.

* * *

Yawning, Naruto had his chin resting on the palm of his hand. It seemed that even though he had gone out in the day light for the first time in hundreds of years it didn't fully cheer him up. Looking down at his ring, he noticed that he had left it on his middle finger. Sighing, he forgot that he placed an enchantment over the ring to change his appearance until today. Looking over at the mirror, he saw nothing but his clothes and his necklace, another item with an enchantment on it to help protect him from the sun light.

He can still remember the day he had learn those enchantments. It was the day he had been found in the forest. _'No! I don't want to remember that day! I just want to… to forget…'_ thought Naruto to himself as he took a deep breath. Right now, he just wanted to think on the present, and not the past. Though, it seemed that no matter what he just couldn't forget about his past no matter how hard he tried. She was dead because of him.

Shuddering at the memory, Naruto tried to keep himself calm.

Looking out the window, Naruto noticed that Hinata might be done at that café he saw her out at. Shrugging, he pushed himself to his feet and changed his appearance once more. He just wished that he knew what he looked like with the ring hiding his true appearance. Sighing, he started to head out the door. Hoping that he would catch up with Hinata before she went home… or, even to walk her to his home since he had heard that people have been going missing lately on the streets. It had him curious as to what was happening but whatever it was… he didn't like it.

Crossing his arms, Naruto tried to think about the missing people. Sure, he never leaves the house but the people that walk past his house he could easily hear them. There was that and also that Kurama tells him sometimes. Looking up at the sky, the young man tried to think on where Hinata could have gone. If he was right, she might be home already but, it doesn't hurt to be safe right? After all, humans were frail and fragile beings. Well, now they are compared to when he was a human. Back then, humans were tough and fought back for what they believed to be right. At least, when this place was a ninja village.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto turned the corner, hoping that this would be a short cut to catching up to Hinata. He wondered if there was anything else that she would want to know about him or, even about vampires in general. She seemed like a curious one to him, wanting to know about the unknown… and he was the one to do it but… should he really be going near her? Was he only going near her because of her blood? Because of how sweet and tasty it was?

Slapping himself, Naruto took a deep breath to help himself relax. Though, to be honest he wasn't really sure why he was bothering to take a deep breath in the first place since he doesn't really have a need for breathing in the first place.

Shaking his head, the young man looked on ahead of himself, wondering if maybe Hinata would be near him now. Though, it didn't seem to be the case, for he didn't see her close or even smelled her at all. Suddenly, he heard it… a faint scream echoing through the silence of the night and into his ears. He knew that voice, he remembered that scream. Hinata was screaming for help. Growling, he jumped into the air, gliding toward the roof. Sniffing the air, he tried to find a way to find her, to locate Hinata. But it seemed that wouldn't happen. All he could smell was the birds that had flown past here recently.

"Damn it where is she," Naruto asked himself, wondering just where the young woman could have gotten to.

Growling once more, the blonde vampire jumped from building to building, hoping to reach the blue haired woman before it was too late. There was no way that he was going to feel the guilt of knowing that he could have saved her and didn't.

Narrowing his blue eyes into slits, the young man kept on searching. Running and jumping from roof top to roof top, sniffing the air for any trace of Hinata. Hoping, praying… that god would listen to him now so that Hinata would come out of this alive. _'Just stay safe Hinata. Stay safe until I reach you…'_ thought Naruto, his eyes turning a faint red.

As he ran over the buildings, a faint scent entered his nose. It was faint, but he could still smell the wonderful scent as it passed through his nostrils. Naruto growled and started to quicken his pace. He had to hurry or this could be the end for Hinata. No matter what, he had to hurry and save her! OF all the vampire legends why couldn't the bat transformation one be true!?

The scent was starting to get a little stronger, he remembered this scent! It was blood, blood mixed in with lavender, vanilla… and stone? No, stone was being mixed into the blood… Wait, he remembered the combination… well, most of it. The scent of vanilla that was Hinata's shampoo… the lavender was her natural scent and… he guessed that the stone was mixing into her blood from a fall and scraping her skin. The very thought of Hinata being hurt, it caused his blood to boil in rage. He wasn't sure why but, he felt some sort of claim… but why? Was it his vampire nature or was it something more? He couldn't really say and this itself frightens Naruto greatly.

Pumping his legs even more, the blonde vampire rushed, hoping to reach the blue haired woman. The faint sound of her screams echoed through his mind once more, he didn't know what was going on but he had to hurry. But that was when her scent hit him full force. He found her! Looking down into an alley, he saw Hinata being held by a man, the man seemed to have had a firm grip on her throat and his friend was just standing behind him. This did not serve to please Naruto.

Jumping off of the roof, he started to fall toward the ground below him. His eyes narrowed into slits as he landed, knees bent and his head low. "What do you think you're doing to this woman?" said Naruto, his voice calm yet cold.

"What do you think?! We're going to have fun with this bitch!" shouted one of the men.

"Uh… I think we should leave… this guy is creepy," said the other man.

"Shut up! We can take him on!"

Naruto just smirked. They thought that they could beat him? That almost made Naruto want to laugh. Almost, though he just widened his grin. The men didn't know what they had just gotten themselves into. "Look, just beat him and we can get back to business with this bitch," said the first man before dropping Hinata. He knew that Hinata had been dropped by the strange thump sound. He would have to make sure that she didn't have a serious head injury.

Slowly, Naruto rose to stand… his vampire instincts kicking in. Telling him to scare his prey before taking their blood, the very nectar that gives them life… His instincts telling him to take it, take it all until they were dry. So they could never hurt anyone ever again. That was all that was going through Naruto's mind at this very moment. After that, everything was a blur to him. It all happened so fast that he had trouble remembering it.

What he did remember, was that one of them charged at him. He had acted quickly and grabbed his wrist that was thrown out to be a punch before throwing him over his shoulder. The other charged and went to kick him in the side. Though of course, that had been blocked with blinding speed and that man was thrown into the wall. Naruto just smirked all the more. To him, this was all a game… a game that he was clearly enjoying all too much.

The men had just kept on fighting with Naruto. Throwing fists, kicking and trying to break down Naruto's will. He wasn't sure how long the battle had gone on, all he could remember was pinning both of the men to the wall by their shirts. Both men stared at Naruto, one with fear and the other with anger and rage. That was when, Naruto pulled his final trick to get them to feel the fear he wanted them to feel.

Slowly lifting his head, he showed the two men his glowing red and black pupil, showing that he was not human. The men both stared at Naruto with slightly wide eyes, not sure what he was. Though, this only made Naruto smile in glee, revealing his sharp and pointed fangs to the men. With that, their skin grew pale with fear before they tore away from him, and ran off as fast as they could out of the alley. Naruto growled before he started to come around.

"Damn it, I lost it again…" he said to himself before rushing to Hinata. Checking her for any kind of injury, shaking his head the young man gently lifted Hinata into his arms. Not wanting to cause her any more harm than she needed. Taking a deep breath, the young woman held her close to his chest and ran as fast as he could into the night.

But, it made him wonder what he was to expect next. Though, it also made him wonder if Hinata was safer away from him, or safer with him. There was really no way of knowing was there?


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto paced around in his kitchen. A room that he never needed and yet he came here to help get himself to relax. Why was he so panicked anyway? Hinata was fine… Taking a deep breath, the young man ran a hand through his blonde locks as he tried to think of something that would get himself to calm down and relax. After all, Hinata was only knocked out… all she needed was some rest after what had happened… She had, almost been raped and the thought made him ill.

Looking out the window, Naruto saw that the moon was still high in the sky, a sure sign that he still had a few hours or so until he would have to go to sleep in his coffin. Crossing his arms, Naruto leaned against the counter, his eyes closed as he tried to think on what he should do for Hinata… Sure, he knew that he couldn't leave her alone; knowing that if she was alone there was no way of knowing what could happen. What if she was attacked again at night? The thought of it caused fear to grasp its icy grip around his unbeating heart.

But what really bothered him, was why he cared in the first place. For hundreds of years, or maybe even thousands of years he never cared about a single human before. At least, not since she died… Sighing, Naruto leaned back, his head tapping the window that resided above the sink as he tried to get his thoughts together.

Sure, Hinata was a beautiful woman by human standards but… _'Can I really have feelings for a human? Even if it is just out of friendship?'_ thought Naruto as he slowly started to open his eyes, as he looked up at the ceiling, as if hoping that would give him some kind of answer. Sadly, it never worked that way or else all of his questions would have been answered by now. Closing his eyes once more, Naruto tried to allow the silence to wash over him. Hoping, praying, that all of the silence would allow him to calm down, to relax. Something that he deeply needed…

Suddenly, there was the sound of something tapping glass. The sound itself, sounded soft, yet only in a single point. Opening his eyes, the blonde vampire turned around as his gaze sharpened on the one who dared to force him out of his sense of calm. Growling, Naruto whipped the window open as he said "what do you want Kurama? Can't you tell I'm trying to relax?"

Kurama just shrugged his little shoulders before jumping into the kitchen and setting his latest kill down in the sink for Naruto. The small fox looked up at Naruto and just raised an eyebrow at him as he said "you listen here Naruto, I go through a lot to find you meals and you have to give me attitude? Which, I'll admit is new; this new attitude is different from what you normally give me… Anyway, point is, I go through a lot to make sure you eat and you have to act like this? What's wrong with you? Are you that hungry Naruto?"

Shaking his head, Naruto turned away from Kurama as he said "I'm fine… I… I don't know. It's hard to explain…" Soon, he started to feel a weight on his shoulders, causing the young looking man to turn his blue orbs to the spirit fox that now resided on his shoulder giving him a curious glance. The way Kurama was staring at him told him that he wasn't going to let Naruto drop this at all, at least not until he got a damn good answer. Running a hand through his hair, Naruto calmly said "I saved a human girl and now she's in my room sleeping…"

"By your room, do you mean the basement or the only room with a bed in it?"

"What the hell do you think?!"

"Okay, okay… jeez… so, you got feelings for her Naruto?" asked Kurama with a tilt of his head. Naruto just glared at the fox, if stares could kill Kurama would be finding himself back into the spirit world. The small fox jumped off the vampire's shoulder and landed on the counter as he stared at Naruto with a bored stare. "Look Naruto, you know what could happen if you start getting strong feelings for Hinata… you're only looking for more pain."

"I know that damn it but…"

"She has a personality that just screams for help right?"

All he could do was nod. Naruto didn't think he could bring himself to voice his answer, at least not yet. Had he started to just think of her as someone that needs help all the time or was it something else? Something more than that? He didn't know, and had a feeling that he may never know that answer. Turning his head to the sink, Naruto saw the dead squirrel and grabbed it before drinking the still fresh blood that run through its veins.

Closing his eyes, Naruto knew that this poor creature had been dead for a while now, so most of its blood had dried but what hadn't was enough to sustain him for now. AS he drank the little amount of blood, Naruto saw the small memories of the squirrel, mostly it wanting to collect nuts and acorns for the winter. It wasn't much of a memory but for now, it would be enough for Naruto to feel bad for the poor little guy.

Looking over at Kurama after spitting out the animal, Naruto calmly said "take his body and bury him…" After that, he set the poor animal in the sink before he started to walk away. He couldn't stand to look at the poor animal. Though, what confused him on that was why he felt regret when he's fed off of animals for years and now, all of a sudden he wants to stop feeding from animals but sadly he can't do that. He knew that so long as he was a vampire and he had that craving for blood, he would have to keep drinking blood or it could very well kill him… and Naruto would rather not die as a monster.

Stopping for a moment, the young man wondered if this was a life that he would even want to keep living. Was it wrong for him to live like this? When he was a human, was he a crook? Was he an honourable man? Or was he a monster as a human as much as he was as a vampire?

Rubbing his forehead, Naruto took a deep breath, not really sure why since he didn't need to breathe. Must be out of habit since the one that turned him had said that even though as vampires, they don't need to breathe or any of the human needs they still had the habits.

Looking out the window, Naruto frowned a bit when he saw that the moon was still high. Was it midnight? Shrugging to himself, Naruto started to make his way to the second floor where Hinata resided. He had to make sure that she wasn't in too bad of shape from that attack that she had been through. Stopping for a moment, Naruto wondered if Hinata would even remember what had happened since she had been hit pretty hard in the back of the head.

Covering his face with his right palm, Naruto tried to get himself to relax. It had been hard for him to control himself when he was treating her wound… The blood soaking her hair, seeping from the cut that resided on the back of her head. Just thinking of tasting her blood made his fangs enlarge and the desire to feed on human blood was strong just like the day he had awakened as a vampire. Slapping himself across the face, Naruto tried to get himself to calm down. He hadn't been trying for hundreds of years of self-control only to lose it. He was a lot stronger now than he was all those years ago.

Moving his feet, the sound of his feet hitting the floors echoed through the halls. Naruto wondered if he should keep staying here. Was it safe for him to stay here when Hinata had so easily made her way through the mansion? Sure, she had been the first person to walk into his home and wonder around but… could he risk letting that happen again?

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto tried to think if going into Hinata's life was a good choice for her. Would it be safe for him to be around her or could it help him? _'Gah, this is so confusing!' _thought Naruto with a sigh before he looked down the hall and saw that he was close to the room he had placed Hinata in. Standing outside the door, Naruto closed his eyes as he focused on the sounds that surrounded him. He could hear Hinata's soft breathing and her slow but steady heartbeat. A sure sign that she was still alive, and of course still asleep, at least she was resting okay.

Opening his eyes, Naruto slowly started to open the door, and gently closing it behind him. If there was one thing he was good at, it was being quite when he chose to be. Carefully, Naruto glided on the floor, not making a single sound. It was as if he was floating above the floor boards and making his way towards the bed with Hinata still resting. Sometimes, he wondered how he would have a woman just resting in his bed instead of him biting down on her neck and drinking the nectar of life that just so happens to run through her veins.

Shaking his head, Naruto made his way to the wooden chair that resided in the room next to the bed. Looking around, Naruto was thankful that the windows were shut; the curtains would keep the sun out of the room. At least until the curtains were moved though even they could only block so much. Looking down at Hinata, he couldn't help but stare at her, taking in her appearance fully.

Sure, he knew that she had long blue hair though the way it draped over her shoulders and framed her face… It made him believe that his heart, if it was beating, would be beating very quickly. Gulping, he looked at her face; her skin was flawless of course though her cheeks had a small tint of pink, giving her a bit of a healthy rosy glow to her.

The blanket was thin, yet it clung to the curves of her waist since she was turned to her side. Though he could also see that she was also very… developed for a woman of her age and height. Looking away for a moment, Naruto tried to get himself to relax. Why was he so on edge with her near him? Shaking his head, the blonde vampire turned to stare at Hinata again only to blink when he stared at her lips. They were so soft looking, with a rosy tint to them and they just seemed so… supple, like he wanted to claim them for his very own.

Bending in the chair, Naruto buried his face in his hands as he tried to get himself to relax. What the hell was wrong with him? He hadn't looked at a human like that for so long… why was he looking at Hinata like that? Shaking his head, the young man tried to get himself to relax, tried to get himself to stop thinking of her like that and nothing more. Hell, it was hard for him not to think of her as a meal. Human blood was just something that he craved; even when he wanted to drink it he had some hold on that desire of his.

Closing his eyes, Naruto just sat there on the chair, not really keeping track of the time that was around him as he tried to think on what was going to happen. Was it safe for Hinata to be around him or was this weird feeling of danger just that? A weird feeling? Frowning for a moment, he wondered if he was just over thinking on this just so he could be around her.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto grabbed at his hair and tugged as if that would pull out his frustration. At least that was something that he had been hoping for since he just wanted this all to end and have his torment quieted down so he could live the rest of his endless life in peace. _'Why… why does this have to be so damn confusing?'_ thought Naruto as he sighed softly.

"N… Naruto…?" whispered a voice, causing Naruto to open his eyes and looked up at Hinata who stared at him with her tired looking lavender eyes. Hinata looked so weak, so frail. Staring at her with gentle eyes, Naruto slowly reached out for her hand, wanting to hold it but… he pulled his hand back. Hinata slowly pushed herself to sit up on the bed before looking around the area, as if trying to figure out what was going on or where she was. Frowning a bit, Hinata's gaze turned back to Naruto as she asked "how long have I been here? Why does my head hurt?"

Naruto stared at her for moment. Didn't she remember that she had been attacked? Or was she trying to forget or… did she pray that she hadn't really been close to being attacked or raped for that matter? He didn't know if he could bring himself to tell her the whole truth… but he knew that if he didn't tell her something that she would suspect the worse from him. Leaning back in his seat, Naruto calmly said "you were attacked… I don't know their full intentions but I found you when you were knocked out… I fought, they ran off and I brought you here tending to your wound," he closed his eyes as he added "I'm just thankful that it wasn't worse than it was…"

Hinata just stared at him, her eyes looking a little dazed, if not a little drowsy. She might still be a little worn out though that was to be expected at this point. Giving her a soft look, he added "Hinata, I know it's weird for you to be here, in a vampire mansion no less… but I brought you here because I had some material around that I could use, plus… I didn't know where you live. This is to protect you." She just blinked at him before nodding, Naruto knew that Hinata would need to rest more but it almost seemed like she was trying to fight off the desire to sleep… she was tough, that was for sure.

"Don't wanna go back to sleep huh?" Naruto asked with a soft chuckle. His only answer was a nod of her head before she sat on the bed, her legs crossed. She just stared at him, her eyes still tired though it held an intense stare, as if hoping that staring at him would give her all the answers that she could ever want. Though, he couldn't be sure if that would be it but it couldn't hurt right?

"Do you really drink blood?" asked Hinata, her voice was just as tired sounding as she looked. Naruto thought that it was a rather odd question for her to ask since he did, try to bite her once when she first entered this place. But he blamed her tired state of mind at the moment.

"I do, though I prefer the blood of animals at the moment. I do crave human blood but… well; I don't want to see humans as a food source." Naruto calmly answered. Thinking that was as good of an answer as he could give. Blinking at Hinata, Naruto wondered what more she would ask of him… though, maybe he should ask her a question or so…

"Can you enter people's homes or do you have to ask for permission?"

"I can sneak into people's homes, of course though I would rather have permission to enter." Naruto calmly said as if that was a simple question to have asked. Which, in a way it was… Sure, people have said that vampires had to ask permission to enter people's homes but something deep inside him told him that it was wrong to break into someone's home. At least, not unless you were protecting someone or trying to get some kind of information. It was a rather strange voice; it was a voice of a woman that had told him time and again.

Hinata gave a small smile; it seemed that she was feeling a little more at ease. That was something at the least, though it still had him a little concerned if she was going to ask him something a little too personal for his liking. It may be for the best that he didn't answer those kinds of questions if they were ever asked.

Hinata frowned for a moment, as if in deep thought, trying to think of something that she could ask of Naruto. Though it seemed that it was on the tip of her tongue. "Um… you were human correct?" asked Hinata.

"I was…"

"What was your life like when you were human?"

Now that was a bit of a personal question. One that he really didn't want to answer but… well there wasn't really anything he could say about his past in the first place… Sinking in his seat, Naruto's expression was sad, and seemed almost defeated at that. Closing his eyes, he whispered "I don't know… I have no memory of when I was human. I don't know if I had friends, who my family was… if I even had a family or anything. I woke up in the forest one day…"

When he opened his eyes, he saw Hinata frowned at him, did she sense that her question had hurt him when he had given his answer? Damn it, why did it hurt him to see her sad? Shaking his head, he calmly said "do not worry Hinata; I have learned to ignore the pain of not knowing what my life was like. Do not take it too badly for me."

Hinata nodded before she started to lie down, though she just stared at Naruto for a moment. Naruto knew that she had one last question on her mind. As if trying to figure out one last thing about him. She just gave him a small smile as she asked "does a cross and holy water really hurt you?" She tilted her head at him before her head hit the pillow, looking ready to fall right to sleep at the moment.

Gently grabbing the blanket, Naruto pulled it over the sleepy blue haired woman before dropping it over her shoulders. "To be honest Hinata? Holy water does bother me, though in the current age, most holy people do not know how to properly prepare holy water… so it doesn't hurt as much anymore. As for crosses, no… that is just a stupid superstition." He gave her one last smile before patting her shoulder and watched her drift off to sleep.

Naruto just stared at her for a moment, as if trying to figure out what more he could do for her… Closing his eyes, he whispered "I'll protect you Hinata… until this dark feeling I sense is gone…"

**Cliff Hanger no Jutsu!**


	6. Chapter 6

Hinata yawned softly as she slowly started to push herself up from bed. Her head still hurt a little bit, though that was to be expected since she did get slammed into a wall. Taking a deep breath, the young woman started to rub her eyes as she looked around the room. Frowning a bit, she couldn't help but wonder how she got here. Wait a minute, now she remembered…

"Naruto came and saved me…" whispered Hinata; she found it a little amazing that he had come to her rescue. Letting out a soft smile, Hinata pushed herself up to her feet and frowned a bit. It seemed that she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday… Looking at her watch, the young woman saw that she would have enough time to get to her home and grab a clean change of clothes or in her case a clean uniform for her to change into before making her way off to work.

Before she could finish pulling the sheets back up to make the bed, she heard a soft yip. Turning her head, Hinata saw a small red fox with nine tails and long rabbit-like ears. It was rather odd to see a fox with nine tails though maybe it was one of those rare events with animals?

Shaking her head, Hinata carefully moved her hand toward the fox, not sure if she could trust the small animal to not bite her though there was no way of really knowing was there? At least not without taking the risk but some things, were worth the risk. Slowly, carefully, Hinata's hand reached out a little more, as if wondering if the fox was going to bite her, or if he would lick her hand. Was this animal a gentle creature?

Soon, the little fox blinked its crimson coloured eyes and nuzzled Hinata's hand, emitting a soft sound that would sound like a purr. Hinata smiled a little as she gently pet the fox's head, being careful not to hurt or scare the little him or her. Soon, Hinata saw something in the fox's mouth… "A… piece of paper?" whispered Hinata with a hint of confusion. Tilting her head, she held her hand out as she reached for the note only for the fox to drop it in her hand.

Unfolding the small piece of paper, Hinata started to read the words that were printed neatly on the paper. In a way, it made her think of how a royal prince would write back in ancient times. Hinata had to admit though, the writing was beautiful.

_Dear Hinata, I hope your rest went to your satisfaction. Though, I'm sorry that I could not see you off this morning though just know that I will protect you. I don't want to scare you, but right now there is something dark and sinister and I fear that it's after you. Until I know you are safe, I'll pick you up after work… Also, the one bringing you this note, is my friend Kurama, do not fear him if he starts talking. Now, I wish you a good morning and I'll see you this evening, from Naruto._

Hinata frowned a bit… the fox, Kurama… could talk? Okay, she highly doubted that but at the moment she wasn't going to allow that to bother her. She had to hurry and get home so she can change. Pushing herself up, Hinata frowned a bit as she wondered where her purse was. Tilting her head, she looked around the small room and crossed her arms. Turning her head to Kurama, she asked "do you know what Naruto did with my purse?"

The small animal nodded before jumping off the bed and went toward the closet. Okay, that would make a little bit of sense. Walking over to the closet, Hinata opened the door and saw her purse hanging by a coat hanger. At least Naruto didn't just leave her purse just lying around somewhere for it to get ruined. Grabbing her purse, the young woman started to look around her purse to make sure that everything was in it. Her wallet, her make-up, her keys, yup everything was in here.

Smiling, Hinata looked at Kurama and pet his head before rubbing his ear. The little fox let out a soft purr-like growl as he leaned into Hinata's hand. "Thank you for helping me Kurama." With that said, Hinata grabbed her heels that, also just so happened to have been in the closet before slipping them on and heading out the door. Looks like today was going to be a good day that was for sure. Though, as for what would happen on this kind of day would be a mystery.

Though the more she thought about it the more she remembered that, that itself was just part of how life really was. Life, itself was like one great big mystery and in a way, Naruto, like life was a mystery. Maybe it was because he didn't have any memory of his life as a human and she would need to find some way to help him remember or what his life had been like.

_'Too bad that's easier said than done…'_ thought Hinata with a sigh before she ran a hand through her slightly tangled blue locks. Maybe when she got home she would need a quick shower before going home since she would be working with food. Shrugging to herself, Hinata knew that for now she was just going to have to have her mind on work and once she was done work, she would try to find some way to help Naruto remember his past.

Maybe if they were lucky, something good would happen. Such as finding out about Naruto's lost past, maybe they'll find out something else about his past… Though, she hoped that they could at least find something out, no matter if it was today or tomorrow or even next week…

Taking a deep breath, Hinata had left Naruto's home and had gone off to her own home.

* * *

"Hinata, you're late!" shouted Mia as she glared at the blue haired woman. Hinata knew that she was a few minutes late but that was because it had been harder to walk home than she thought. Then, of course she had to shower off the dirt and grime from when she fell and she had to wash out the dried blood that had caked itself in her hair. Let Mia try to get all of that done before coming to work…

"I'm sorry, I… I lost track of time." Whispered Hinata. She couldn't do it; she just couldn't really say the truth. For if she did, it would be like exposing Naruto to people knowing about him. That was something that Hinata couldn't, and wouldn't allow to happen. Once Mia was away from her, Hinata let out a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding in until that moment.

Hinata looked toward the dressing room and knew that she would have to set her purse in her locker or risk having it stolen. Running a hand through her hair, the young woman made her way to the dressing room and started to head on toward her locker. As she started to turn the dial on the lock, Hinata wondered what she could do for Naruto… Since from what she had figured he'd been stuck in that place for a hundred or so years, he wouldn't know what was going on, in the outside world.

_'Maybe I could take him out tonight so he knows what's changed since he's been outside last time…'_ thought Hinata with a smile before she opened the locker and started to set her purse inside. Maybe it would be one of those things that would bring people together. Naruto needed a friend that was for sure though she just hoped that he wouldn't be angry at her or even freak out if he saw what the world had to offer now that it had changed so much from when he had last seen it.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman looked in the mirror that was in her locker and frowned a bit. Her eyes had some dark circles under them, though she assumed that was because of the attack on her last night. Frowning a bit, Hinata shook her head and closed her locker, only for a new voice to surprise her.

"Hey Hinata, what happened to you last night?"

Turning around, the young woman saw her pink haired friend walking into the change room with a smile on her face. Hinata was thankful to have a friend here at this place. Giving a smile at the pink haired woman, Hinata happily said "hey Sakura, sorry something came up and… I was a bit worn out I guess you can say." She didn't want to lie, but it was either lie, or have Naruto exposed.

Sakura blinked from Hinata's answer though she would accept that for now. Taking a deep breath, Sakura walked over to the blue haired woman as she said "you sure that you're okay? You don't look like you've been sleeping very well." Hinata frowned a little, had it been that obvious? Okay sure, she knew that she had some dark lines under her eyes but weren't they only noticeable if you were close?

Looking away, Hinata calmly said "well, I had some trouble sleeping." Though, she didn't blame from lack of sleep, sure anyone would be too freaked to sleep in a place with a vampire present. Now that she thought about it, Hinata found it a little odd that she hadn't been a little freaked out at all. Shrugging to herself, the young woman figured that maybe it was because she didn't see Naruto as a vampire, but as a normal man.

A man, that also just so happens to hide away from the world from fear of hurting someone, at least this is what she was assuming.

Looking at Hinata for a moment, Sakura shook her head as she said "come on, I'll fix those dark circles for you." She smiled before grabbing Hinata's wrist and getting her to sit down on a bench that resided in the room. Hinata didn't know what was going to happen, though she figured that it couldn't be that bad right?

Sakura reached into her own purse and pulled out what appeared to be cover up. What bothered her though was if it would match her skin tone since Sakura's skin was a little more tanned than hers was. Though Sakura just smiled while she held out a small jar with what Hinata assumed to be cover up. Grabbing Hinata's wrist, Sakura held the jar near Hinata's skin as if to see if it would match her skin tone. Shaking her head, Sakura put the jar back in her purse before pulling out another one and did the same thing. Holding the jar close to her skin to see if it would match her skin tone. "You sure do have pale skin Hinata, is this healthy for you?" asked Sakura with a hint of confusion before pulling out yet another jar and smiled when it matched Hinata's screen tone.

Hinata stared at Sakura as she said "I get the fair skin from my mother… I guess you can say it's a natural trait I got from her." After that said, Hinata closed her eyes as she allowed the pink haired and green eyed woman to put on the cover up under Hinata's eyes. As she did that, Hinata wondered if anything else would happen today. Sure, for a little while now, people had been asking for her to sing again though she wasn't sure if she should…

Sure, she knew that everyone loved to hear her sing, but could she do something like that? Taking a deep breath, Hinata knew that it might help her with her stage fright, it worked once right? Maybe it'll work again but at the same time, she didn't know if it would since more people would possibly show up for that. It had her feel a little nervous.

Sakura smiled as she said "hey Hinata, I was wondering if you would like to go on a double date with me tonight? See, I'm going out with Sasuke but he has a friend that came into town and he doesn't want to leave him alone since he'll go back tomorrow so… would you come with me?" Hinata bit her lower lip, she was going to spend tonight with Naruto, could she really just ditch him and go with Sakura to spend some time with him? Maybe she could go let Naruto take her home then she would go out with her friend… That could work right? Oh this was just so confusing…

"Sure, though someone is picking me up tonight from work so after he brings me home I'll get dressed and you can meet me at my apartment?" Hinata suggested the last part, thinking that maybe that would bring Naruto some sense of calm. Knowing fully well that if she at least left her home with someone it would make him relax a little… at least she was hoping that would be the case for him.

"Okay, you're done… Also, that sounds like a good plan Hinata. I bet Sasuke's friend will be happy to know that he'll have such a beautiful woman to dine with!" Sakura said with a bright smile on her face, though hearing Sakura's compliment it made Hinata's face go a little dark. She had never seen herself as a 'beautiful woman' or even close to that.

Getting up, Hinata looked up at Sakura who was now holding up a mirror with a smile on her face. "Here, you may like what you see." Sakura said with glee before Hinata took the mirror and stared at her reflection. Wow, she couldn't even tell that she ever had dark lines under her eyes. In fact, she didn't even look that tired anymore. Smiling, Hinata looked over at Sakura as she thanked the pink haired woman and gave her a quick hug before giving her back the mirror and went out to work.

Maybe something good could come from this after all, now, it was time for work!

As soon as she left the locker room, Hinata had been about to walk off to take some orders until she had bumped into someone. Looking up, she saw a tall woman with long blonde hair pulled back in two loose ponytails. Her eyes were a soft brown, her skin was a little tanned though still had a slightly pale complexion.

The woman wore a low blouse like robe, and short tight looking pants that reached above her ankles and heeled sandals. Hinata didn't know who this woman was though she had a feeling that she will in a minute.

"Hello, you're Hinata right?" asked the woman. Hinata could only nod of course, the woman smiled at Hinata's answer. "I'm Tsunade; I guess you can say that I'm your boss since I own the café. Now, I heard a lot of people wanting to hear you sing for them lately so I was wondering if you would be the official singer for the café?"

Hinata could only stare at Tsunade with wide eyes. Was she hearing this right? Tsunade, her boss wanted her to be the official singer for this place? Wow… that would be quite the honour but could she really be a singer for this place? Hinata was about to answer her until Tsunade said "of course, we'll give you extra for singing of course." Okay, as soon as she heard that, Hinata agreed since she did need the money to help pay off some bills that she hadn't been able to pay off yet.

Tsunade smiled brightly as she said "great, you'll sing a song of your choice in an hour." With that said, Tsunade went back to her office; at least she assumed it was her office. Anyway, Hinata was just happy that she would have some money to pay off some of her bills, though she couldn't help but wonder what song she would sing tonight… or if that mysterious red haired man would come back. She didn't know and had a feeling that it wouldn't be anything good if he suddenly appeared and disappeared like last time. Sighing softly, the young woman just agreed and went off to make sure that she could pick a nice song for today and get this all over and done with. Though she also hoped that she wouldn't have some kind of break down.

After getting some of her work done, Hinata knew that she should get this over and done with. Though, she wondered if the song that she had chosen would be one that she would okay enough for her to sing. It was another song that she had heard as a child, though it was still a little unnerving, it made her a think that everyone would hate the song that she would pick but for now she would just go along with it.

Besides, what could go wrong right?

Walking over to the stage, Hinata grabbed the microphone and tried to keep her nerves calm. Knowing that if she panicked even a little bit, the song would sound a little off. Looking ahead, she saw many people watching and staring right at her. Her face went a little red at the thought of them watching her, maybe if she just imagined that she was singing for her sister like when they were kids it would make things go a little more smoothly.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata started to sing the song that reached from the very depths of her heart.

_Ohh  
Shine from within  
And cast all of your fears aside  
You'll see the light  
But until that day comes_

The music was soft, soothing… it almost sounded like a lullaby that a mother would sing for her child. Hinata placed such emotion in her words, as if these words were for someone dear to her. Someone that was close to her heart though she didn't really know who that would be as of yet, since she didn't hold someone as close as that, at least, not passing the line of 'friendship'.

_You're giving me too many things lately  
You're all I need  
You smiled at me and said  
Don't get me wrong (I love you)  
But does that mean I have to walk on water?_

Opening her eyes a little, Hinata placed a hand over her heart as if she was talking to someone about something that upset them. It was wrong to her for someone to get random gifts that would end up letting he, or she to go broke. Hinata was pure that way, the only time, she would ever accept a gift really was if it was a special occasion… a real special occasion.

_When we are older you will understand  
What I meant when I said no  
I don't think life is quite that simple_

Adding more emotion to her words, Hinata almost sounded like she had been angry or very upset. In a way, it made her think of her last boyfriend when he kept buying her items, it almost made her feel like he was trying to buy her love, her affection. That was one of the reasons why she broke up with him, and this song in a way made her think of that… well, that and because this song was also one of her mother's favourites.

_One day you will realize  
The stars you are chasing  
Shine bright deep inside you  
But will you ever let it shine from within?  
And cast all of your fears aside  
You'll see the light  
But until that day comes_

As she sang this part, Naruto's image popped up into her mind. Naruto had a bright light within his heart that he tried to keep hidden because of his fear. The more she thought about it, Hinata had remembered seeing a hint of guilt within his blue orbs. Even if she hasn't spoken to him or known him that long, she knew that he tried to keep his life a secret, tried to keep things to himself if he didn't deem it important to others. But one day, Hinata hoped that Naruto will open up to her for after all, everyone needs a friend they can trust.

_Hold me  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
And until that day comes_

_Hold me  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later  
Regardless of warnings  
The future doesn't scare me at all (ahh)_

Hinata had a small yet sad smile on her face as she sang. In the corner of the room, she saw the red haired man from the other day. Staring at him with wide eyes, she couldn't but stare at him with confusion. What was happening? Why was he here now? Tilting her head to the side, Hinata tried to keep herself calm, but at the moment she didn't mind, though the smile that was on his face… it made Hinata's heart skip a beat. Why though?

_Nothing's like before  
When we are older_

Hinata wondered who that man could possibly be, he looked so much like Naruto but he doesn't have red hair… Naruto's hair is blonde… Plus, this man had no whisker marks on his face so this only served to confuse her all the more. Frowning a little more, Hinata went back to the song, hoping that she could finish this song and enjoy the rest of her day.

_And you and I  
My heart's a battlefield  
My heart's a battlefield  
My heart's a battlefield_

Closing her eyes once more, Hinata felt that in a way, the heart was a battle field. When you want to feel love of someone you had started to love, you would do just about anything to have their love in return. Hinata wasn't sure if that was like her but she knew that it would happen for her one day. Where she would fight for someone's love, it does after all happen to everyone.

_Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings  
The future doesn't scare me at all_

Hinata smiled a bit as she sang; it was almost as if she felt the warmth of those who care about her near. She even felt like her mother's spirit was near her, trying to tell her something important. Though she wasn't sure what that would be. For now, she just enjoyed the moment for as long as she could.

_Ohh nothing lies before  
Ohh_

Once the song was done, everyone clapped and just smiled at Hinata. She couldn't help but wave back to them and bow before she pushed herself off the stage and set the microphone back where it was. Tonight sure would be a good night after all… in a way, Hinata felt so good right now. Maybe she would manage to get her stage fright under control before it took its hold on her.

* * *

After work, Hinata sighed softly in the locker room. Just happy that everything was done for the day. Grabbing her purse from her locker, Hinata was a little worn out though she still had some time to get home, grab a dress and leave with Sakura, Sasuke and his friend after they get to her place so they can leave.

Walking out the door, Hinata knew that the sun had set though she couldn't help but wonder what everyone would think when they saw Naruto wearing those old styled clothes. Maybe they would think he was a cosplayer or he worked at the theater and he didn't have the time to change out of his clothes? At least she hoped that would be the case.

Sighing, the young woman made her way to the front door and blinked in confusion at the scene that was before her. Standing at the door was the red haired man, this time he just stared at her with a smile, not like the one before… more like a 'surprise' smile. The women were pretty much throwing themselves at the red haired man before he made his way to Hinata.

"Hello Hinata, I came to pick you up like I said I would." Said the red haired man and stared at Hinata with a soft smile before he held out his hand. Hinata was still a little confused as to what this man was talking about since he had never promised her anything before. Soon, the man leaned forward and whispered into her ear something that she hadn't expected from him to say… "It's me, Naruto…"

**Note: if anyone wants the song used, message me and I'll tell you who wrote the version of the song I used**


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: I have one final poll up, pick one everyone ^-^**

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but stare at Hinata as they walked away from the café. He knew that she would be surprised by how he looked and how he had been able to go out in the sunlight, when he had told her last night that he couldn't go out in the sun. Chuckling, he couldn't help but think of her expression. Her eyes, her lavender pools had widened in shock and confusion when he had told her who he was. It was almost enough for him to stare at her in shock.

In fact, Naruto had found it rather cute to see her expression.

"But how?" asked Hinata, he knew what she was trying to figure out. She was trying to figure out how he looks so different and, of course how he had been in the sunlight. Chuckling, Naruto wanted to see how long it would take until she got a little irritated about not knowing. After all, humans could only allow curiosity get the better of them for so long until they just couldn't handle it anymore.

Turning his gaze onto her, Naruto saw that Hinata was still staring at him, her eyes still filled with confusion. There was just no way that she was going to figure this out on her own since she was still new to the supernatural world. There was just no way that she would figure out how he had changed his appearance and walked into the sunlight without burning to a crisp. "Please tell me!" wailed Hinata causing Naruto to chuckle a bit. He's figured that he's tormented her enough with this.

Reaching into his shirt, Naruto pulled out a necklace with a green crystal and two steel beads on the sides. Looking over at Hinata, he saw that she was still rather confused before he started to explain about the necklace. "I got this necklace a long time ago, well more like I woke up with it when I became a vampire. Though, I knew that it held a special meaning to me." Hinata just stared at him, not really sure what that would have anything to do with him being able to walk in the sunlight.

Chuckling, he went back into explaining. "After fifty years of being a vampire, I wanted to walk around in the sunlight again but without people knowing what I was in case I lost it… So, I learned a spell that could turn any object into a protection charm. It protects me from the sun, and I can use it to alter my appearance to how I please. Though, it has been a while since I've seen other humans so I didn't know how humans would dress."

"Then how did you know how to dress?" asked Hinata in confusion.

Grinning, Naruto said "I saw some teens walking by my house a few times; even if they run away I do see pretty well at night." He chuckled a little before tucking his necklace back under his shirt and dug his hands into his pockets. The blonde vampire knew that trying to blend in with humans would be difficult for him since well… he hadn't bothered to interact with humans for so many years. At least, not since… _her_.

Shaking his head, Naruto knew that right now, he shouldn't keep thinking about her. She was his past, and right now he had to focus on his future or better yet the present. Looking over at Hinata, he saw that she was looking on ahead of herself; it had him wonder what was on her mind. Was she a little nervous to be walking in the darkness with him or was it something else? At this point, Naruto didn't think that he would ever be sure…

"Naruto, what is it like to live forever?" asked Hinata with confusion on her face as she stared at him. Naruto turned his gaze to Hinata and saw the curiosity in her gaze, but he also saw a hidden sadness within those lavender orbs of hers. Was she sad for him? Or sad about something else? Naruto sighed before he turned away from Hinata as he thought about her question.

Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to think of the words that he would need to answer her question. The heartbreaking truth… "It's a lonely life Hinata… When you live a life like mine, you feel lonely; try to find some kind of acceptance but you never can. No matter how hard you try people see you as a monster, a beast that could not only rip you apart…" His eyes were now tightly shut, as if he was trying to fight the images that were within his mind. The screams, the cries for help… the scent of spilt blood staining not only his hands but his clothes. "They will never, see you as anything other than a monster…"

Naruto had half expected Hinata to call him a monster, to start running away and get as far away from him as possible. He knew, just knew that Hinata would try to run away from him and say that she never wanted to see him again, even if he couldn't allow that to happen until he was sure that she was safe from all harm.

What he hadn't expected, was for small arms to wrap themselves around his waist and something wet starting to damp his shirt. Opening his eyes, Naruto looked down and stared at Hinata who had her face pressed into his strong muscular chest and her small arms wrapped around his waist, which was surprising that her grip was strong for her size. Naruto didn't know why Hinata was holding him like this; it was rather strange for a human to be hugging him…

Gulping, the blonde vampire didn't know how to respond to this, it was rather strange for him to see a human, to be hugging him. "Um…" was all that escaped the vampire's lips, this was a new experience for him so this was going to take some getting used to. Naruto tried to pull himself away from Hinata's embrace, but it seemed that no matter what, he couldn't do it… He felt such joy from her holding onto him, something he never remembered feeling before… Maybe when he was human but he wasn't sure.

"I'm so sorry Naruto…" whispered Hinata, she held onto him a little more tightly. Hinata took in a shuddering breath as she said "you aren't a monster, you're just a man that needed a friend more than anything but no one would ever give you that chance." Naruto stared at Hinata with wide eyes; she didn't see him as a monster? He didn't think that Hinata would be this pure… Taking a deep breath, Naruto slowly wrapped his arms around Hinata and buried his face against her neck.

All he wanted was to enjoy this moment. At least for as long as he could, Naruto wanted to enjoy the warmth that Hinata's kindness provided him with. Closing his eyes, Naruto buried his face in her neck a little more. Feeling the way her skin felt against his… Hinata's skin was so soft; hell her skin was as soft as silk.

Nuzzling her neck a little bit, Naruto felt like he was losing himself against her skin… he could feel her blood flowing through her body. Could feel her pulse against his lips. Naruto's eyes glazed over for a moment as he felt his fangs start to enlarge. Tracing his fangs over the curve of her neck, Naruto opened his mouth and got ready to bite Hinata and drink her blood. "Naruto? You okay?" asked a voice, causing Naruto to snap out of his trance and pull back and turn away from her. "Wh… What were you doing?"

"Sorry, I… lost control for a moment." Naruto whispered as he tried to get himself to relax. Maybe if he kept himself at a small distance from Hinata, he wouldn't have to worry about trying to bite her. Running a hand through his transformed blonde locks, he whispered "I just gotta remember, you're not my meal, you're my… my friend." When he turned to Hinata, he saw the remains of tears staining her face, so she had been crying for him. Though, what he had been surprised at not seeing was the lack of fear for herself. Why was it that Hinata was just not afraid of him at all?

Hinata just smiled at him as she said "come on Naruto, I need to get home, I'm going out tonight with a friend." Naruto's ears perked at that, she was going out with a friend huh? Looking over at Hinata for a moment, he thought that maybe he should go along as well but, then again would that be right since he didn't eat? He couldn't risk it… maybe he would watch Hinata from afar. Though that might be the best option that he would have right now. Biting his lower lip, thankful that he didn't have his fangs out at the moment he turned to Hinata as if asking where she was going. Well, if she even knew what he was trying to ask without really voicing it.

Of course, Hinata just smiled as she said "I'm going out with a friend who was gonna go out with her boyfriend but he didn't want to leave his friend behind." That was a lot of 'friend' used in one sentence, he had to admit. "So, Sakura asked me if I wanted to double date with her so Sasuke's friend wouldn't be alone." For some reason, Naruto didn't like that idea. The idea of Hinata seeing any other man seemed to make him want to bite someone and drain them of their blood but he held back that desire for the time being.

Of course though, Naruto just gave Hinata a bit grin, not wanting her to feel bad. After all, he was going to end up protecting her all night but it didn't seem that was going to happen… at least with her knowing about it. Maybe Naruto would just have to be sneaky, like a ninja. Frowning a bit, he wondered why that term seemed… familiar to him. Sure he woke up in the ninja era but… he hadn't been a ninja right?

"Naruto, since I have tomorrow off how about I help you try to remember your human life? I bet if we think about the era you woke up in, and do some research we can figure out who you were." Hinata said with a bright smile.

That did intrigue him… Maybe the modern technology would be enough for him to figure out who he was when he had been a human. At least he was hoping that would be the case and not to mention he'll spend the whole day with Hinata. That way, he'll be able to protect her during the day though he would have to be careful since, he did have to sleep after all but damn it. Trying to sleep was only going to get harder and harder for him at this point. Yawning into the back of his hand, Naruto turned to Hinata as he said "that would be interesting… trying to find out about my past… I am curious as to what or who I was before being turned."

Looking up at the sky, Naruto saw that the moon wasn't full… yet. It was one of the times when a vampire's bloodlust would be unstoppable. He would have to make sure he was full on that night or he could risk hurting or worse, killing Hinata. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Naruto turned to Hinata and gave her a small smile as he said "I think that would be good… and, I can learn more about how the world had changed since then.

Looking ahead, Naruto saw that they were close to apartments now… Did that mean that they were close to Hinata's home? Turning his blue pools onto Hinata, he saw that she was digging through her purse; yup they had to be close to her home. "Hinata, tomorrow come to my home okay? Also, don't come out on the nights of a full moon nor, come near me on those nights okay?"

Hinata looked over at Naruto with confusion in her lavender orbs as she frowned a little bit. He had a feeling that was going to happen, she didn't fully understand the danger that he was in at the moment. Okay, she was safe right now from him since he was still full from last night's feeding he would always have to make sure that Hinata was safe from his hunger…

"Why?" asked Hinata with confusion written all over her face. In a way, Naruto had to admit, she made the simple look of confusion so damn adorable… How was that possible, he thought that he may never know now, or ever.

Giving her a sad smile, Naruto calmly said "because you'll be in danger… there is no telling if I'm the only vampire that may end up being hungry that reside in this town. So, to be safe, stay inside when night hits…" after that was said, Naruto had brought Hinata to her home and disappeared… at least, disappeared from Hinata's sight, for he was going to keep an eye on her…

* * *

Hinata hummed softly as she started to go through her closet. It was hard trying to find something nice to wear without her seeming like she was trying to impress Sasuke's friend or wanting to seem like a slob. Frowning a bit, Hinata didn't think that a dress would make her seem presentable… She would to wear something that wouldn't make her seem like she wasn't interested in the guy since she was only going so Sakura could spend time with Sasuke.

Crossing her arms, Hinata glared at her closet as she tried to think on what she should or could wear. How was this going to work!? Blinking in shock, Hinata pulled out a lavender coloured halter with spaghetti straps, and it went past her hips. This would be perfect. Looking at the top a little more, she noticed the sakura blossoms that decorated the front and back. Mostly on the bottom though the way they were falling from a sakura tree. It made Hinata smile at the way the shirt was made. Now, she just needed to find the pants that went with it… she knew that it came in a pair.

Crossing her arms, Hinata dug through her closet as she kept trying to find the pants that she knew came with the top. As she searched, Hinata had thought about Naruto's charm. It was amazing that he could use it to keep himself safe from the sun, and alter his appearance. Though, she wasn't sure why that was the case since after all, Naruto, had he been human should have been dead for a long time so everyone in the present era, at least that's what she's thinking… wouldn't have known who he was.

Running a hand through her hair, the young woman tried to think of how she would help Naruto. Sure, she knew that if she figured out which era that Naruto belonged to, maybe they could find some records, recordings, or if he's older than that, go to the history museum. She wasn't sure if that would really help him, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot right?

Digging deeper into her closet, Hinata thought that she felt something slick and smooth. Smiling, the young woman pulled at the cloth and smiled when she saw that it was the very thing that she had been looking for. Looking over the long pair of dress pants, Hinata saw the sakura blossoms decorate the pants, starting from the bottom of the left leg, then making its way upward and traveling itself over to the right leg in a dangled fashion as it circled itself around both legs. Yup, these were perfect, and of course she had the perfect shoes for this as well.

Smiling all the more, Hinata placed the clothes on the bed before she started to head over to her dresser. Since her top was a spaghetti strap top, she would need a strapless bra… Sighing softly, the young woman had a feeling that tonight was going to be rather strange, though it was something that she was going to have to put up with, at least for now anyway.

As she went through her dresser, Hinata kept on thinking about when Naruto had come so close to biting her. Oddly enough, she hadn't been afraid. In fact, she had trusted Naruto completely to not bite her and drink her blood. Which, she had to admit was rather odd for her to do that. _'Am I too trusting or is there something about Naruto that doesn't cause me to fear him?'_

Shrugging to herself, Hinata started to undress herself after finding a white strapless bra. Removing the one she had been wearing, the young woman put on the strapless bra before putting on the halter top and sliding off the skirt she wore for her uniform. Running a hand through her hair, Hinata thought that maybe she should also pull her hair back and maybe add some gloss… She couldn't be too careful though right? Unless that was going a little too far… _'Why must this be so confusing?'_ thought Hinata with a frown before she reached over to her bed and slid on the black pants from her bed and started to slip them on.

Walking over to her dresser, Hinata grabbed her silver hair clip and pinned her hair back at the nape of her neck and then reached over for her cherry lip gloss. She looked at her reflection for a moment as she tried to make sure that she was presentable for tonight. It seemed like everything was in order so now, all she had to do was get her shoes and wait for Sakura to show up with Sasuke and his friend, whoever he was.

Soon, she heard someone knocking on her door. "Coming!" shouted the blue haired woman as she grabbed black heeled sandals and made her way to the front door. Might as well make the best of this… _'Just remember Hinata, you're doing this for Sakura, you are doing this for your friend Sakura…'_

* * *

Sakura had picked her up for the day, saying that they were going to meet up with the guys at the restaurant so that had been a little confusing and, of course unnerving. Luckily for Hinata though, she wasn't going to let that bother her. After all, she knew that in a way she had her own guardian angel. One, that just so happened to be a vampire.

_'I wonder where Naruto is right now…'_ thought Hinata with a mental shrug before walking into the restaurant with Sakura and started to make her way to the back.

As she looked around, Hinata saw that the place was most likely a five star restaurant. Why Sakura would agree to come to a place like this, she may never know. Though she had a feeling that it had something to do with the fancy food or, Sasuke belonged to some kind of rich family since he and his buddy agreed to pay for everything… at least from what Sakura had said.

Turning her gaze to Sakura, Hinata saw that the woman was wearing a pink dress that reached her knees; she wore some kind of pink dress shoes though in a way, it made Sakura look a little younger. Looking up, Hinata saw that the pink haired woman kept her hair down, though it wasn't like she could do anything with it since it wasn't long enough… The other things she's noticed though was the glitter that seemed to have sparkled in her hair… Okay, so there was something else that could be done with her hair.

Next, was the gold chain with a jade flower shape charm on it. Hinata couldn't help but smile, in a way it made her eyes just seem to pop out since the jade was a little darker than her eyes so it made her eyes seem a little brighter. Taking a deep breath, Hinata looked over and saw two men sitting down at a table. She had to admit, the one man was very handsome, and the man with the brown hair was a little rough around the edges though wasn't her type…

The black haired man had deep dark eyes, short black hair with two locks framing his face and spiked in the back. He wore a blue shirt with a black jacket, and from what she could tell, he wore black pants and black shoes. It seemed that he wasn't one for dressing in fancy clothes though in a way, it suited him perfectly.

Turning her gaze to the shaggy brown haired man, his eyes reminded her of some kind of wild animal… His shirt was red, almost like those weird triangles on his cheeks though a little darker, almost like blood. Next, she saw him wearing long black dress pants and matching dress shoes. Now that she looked a little closer to his shirt, she saw that it was a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled a little up his forearms. Okay, so maybe his clothes weren't wild but still… he just wasn't her type.

_'This is going to be a long, long night…'_ thought Hinata with an inner sigh.

Once the girls sat down, Sakura smiled as she said "Sasuke, this is my friend Hinata Hyuuga. Hinata, this here." Sakura nodded toward the black haired man, "is Sasuke Uchiha and the man next to him, is Kiba Inuzuka. He'll be your date this evening." Why was Sakura sounding so cheery? This was just going to be so boring, she just knew it!

"Hm… Hyuuga? Are you related to Neji Hyuuga?" asked Sasuke with a hint of boredom in his voice. From what she could see of Sasuke, he seemed like a guy that didn't really care much for anything, at least not at the moment. Though when he had looked at Sakura, Hinata saw such love in his dark orbs that she knew, just knew that this man would do anything to make Sakura happy.

Seeing him turn back to her, Hinata calmly said "yeah, he's my cousin." Sasuke just nodded before turning his gaze back to Hinata. The couple just smiled as they talked, Hinata might as well think that she wasn't even there, too bad that wasn't going to be the case since Kiba, was also there with her and started to babble about mindless things such as how awesome his pets are and how he trains guard dogs or even police dogs.

Hinata didn't have anything against animals, no far from it. But with the way this guy just kept on going on and on about animals it just seemed to get a little annoying. Hinata wished that she hadn't gone on this date with this guy just so Sakura could be with her boyfriend. Looking over at Kiba, she calmly said "so, how do you know Sasuke?"

"Oh, me and Sasuke go way back. We've known each other since we were five years old." Kiba said with a chuckle before he started to go on about how he and Sasuke were pretty much brother's in grade school all the way to college. It seemed that no matter what she said, he would just keep going on and on about this. Maybe it was best that she just shut up and do nothing.

"So, Hinata… since these two lovebirds are busy talking… how about you and me…" He whispered Kiba before throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, he soon leaned in closer and added "get busy… my car is just right outside and they wouldn't even notice."

Hinata's eyes widened before she screamed and slapped Kiba across the face as hard as she could. In fact, the force of the hit had been so hard and loud that everyone turned toward her. Even Sasuke and Sakura. "Hinata what's wrong?!" asked Sakura with shock and concern.

"What's wrong?! Kiba wanted me to have sex with him in his car!" seethed Hinata before getting up and making her way out of here. Turning back to Sakura, she added "never ask me to double date anyone again if they're just gonna be pigs." She then, started to leave; every fibber of her being was boiling with rage, which was rare for Hinata.

As soon as she walked out of the restaurant, Hinata rubbed her arms from the slight chill that ran down her body before she started to make her way home… though, as she walked, she wondered if she should have stayed with Naruto tonight instead of going on this date…


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto was cozied up within his coffin. It had been a while since he had any real sleep. Sighing softly, the blonde vampire knew that later Hinata was going to come so they can figure out his past though for now, he just wanted to sleep for as long as he could. As he slept, Naruto had thought about what he had seen last night while Hinata was on this thing called 'a date'.

Either way, he didn't like the thought of it… of Hinata seeing another man. Why that was, he didn't think he'd ever find out. _'Maybe it's because that guy was a human and I'm not…'_ though, for some reason that guy had a weird aura about him. He knew that he's sensed that aura before, or had sensed the kind of air around a person before but he just couldn't remember what or where that was.

Jeez, this whole thing was going to drive him insane at this rate. Then again, maybe he was already insane, why else would he be spending so much time trying to protect a human woman? Hinata was young, beautiful and had so much ahead of her. As for himself, Naruto had nothing ahead of him… sure, if he had still been a human born in this era; he would have been possible in his early twenties. Sadly, he wasn't that old, he was just so much older even if he didn't look it.

Rubbing his face, Naruto tried to get more sleep… he had to sleep or he would be falling asleep while he was with Hinata. Hell, maybe he'd even fall asleep while standing and that would be just a little bit strange.

The blonde vampire had hoped that maybe sleep would be the best thing for him, that maybe he would be able to dream for a change, and not have the nightmare that have haunted him for such a very long time. Just thinking about it had been enough to make him shudder at the thought of it. The screams, the scent of blood, it made him want to vomit if he could, sadly that wasn't going to happen. Even the pain in his non-beating heart had been enough to make him want to just end it all but at the same time, he just couldn't do that either.

Sure, Naruto had thought of just ending it then and there. The thought of continuing his endless life was painful yet, at the same time he thought that this was something that he deserved. That he had to keep living his life the way he had been and would always, always feel nothing but the emotional pain and turmoil that had become the center of his life.

_'My life revolves around pain and suffering…'_ thought Naruto as his mind slowly started to finally start to drift off into dream land. He still remembered the nightmare he had started to get five hundred years ago. It had kept happening for the first three hundred years after her death, and then it had faded. At least it had faded until fifty years ago. He wasn't sure why that was though what he did know was that the nightmare that he's had for the last fifty years hasn't appeared this time. Instead, a memory of when he first met Kurama had appeared…

_Naruto was walking through the endless forests that surround the village. It had been so long since he had first awakened to being a vampire, and a few decades since his loves death. Rubbing his eyes, the young vampire tried to think on what he was to do. He couldn't keep going like this; he couldn't keep feeding off of humans._

_Groaning Naruto wrapped his arms around his bare belly, his clothes had been torn and just barely hanging onto his cold flesh and had been slowly, falling apart. "So… thirsty…" whispered Naruto as he tried to keep himself calm, tried to keep himself sane until he could find a good place to end it. Maybe then, he could finally rest in peace, and end up where he truly belongs._

_Blinking slowly, the young man ran a hand through his dirty blonde locks as he tried to push himself, to force his body to keep moving. The only thing he knew, was that he had to keep moving or else he was just going to kill over from the hunger pains that wracked him from the inside of his very core. Gasping softly, the young vampire leaned into the trunk of the great oak tree as he looked ahead of him. His vision was starting to blur, was he already, finally dying? Or was he just worn out?_

_Looking around for a brief moment, Naruto thought that maybe he could burn in the sunlight. That would be a good end right? Burning the way all vampires would, by the sunlight. After all, no undead being can withstand the sun's rays. Giving a grim smile, Naruto slowly started to push himself away from the tree and started to make his way to where the sun would shine the strongest. All he would have to do is lie there, and wait for his end… That would be a fitting way to die and rest at long last. Maybe when he goes into the other world, Naruto would remember who he was, who his family was and maybe even know how he had been turned into._

_The young of leaves crunching under his bare feet, the sound of twigs snapping from his heavy footsteps. Naruto wondered how far he had walked… had it been far from the village? Or had it only been a few feet? Either way, he knew that he was close to his end. Taking a deep breath, the young vampire had a soft smile on his face before his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell to his knees. Everything seemed to have slowed down for Naruto as he slowly started to fall forward._

_"I'm finally… going to die… at long last…" he whispered before feeling the soft, cool grass under his cheek as his eyes soon, slowly started to close. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of the sun shining on his skin, the flesh that covered his bones started to sizzle and burn…_

_Naruto didn't know how long he had slept for, though what he did know was that he didn't feel any more pain… In fact, he didn't feel anything for that matter. Maybe he had finally died and was making his way to the afterlife. In fact, Naruto almost wanted to smile, but he wondered where he was going to end up. He had pretty much figured that he was going to end up in hell for what he had done._

_"Hey, wake up." Said a voice, causing Naruto to wonder who would be talking to him. No, he just wanted to sleep… just wanted to rest in this land. Maybe one day, he could be forgiven for his sins. Turning his head away from the voice, Naruto tried to get back to his eternal rest. "Hey, I told you to get up kid! You can't keep sleeping here." What the hell did he mean can't keep sleeping here? Did the afterlife have some kind of rule over sleeping in certain places?_

_Naruto just lied there, wanting to rest, never wanting to feel that pain ever again. The pain of loss, the pain of torment and guilt. How he had always outlived people, how he had trouble controlling himself around humans when he was hungry. All of that was just too much for him to handle, his heart, even if it was unbeating, still felt great emotional turmoil and pain even when he would drink from someone, he felt guilt and hatred toward himself._

_The pain, the screams, the plea people would make for him to not bite or take human lives. Just thinking of drinking blood, Naruto felt his fangs grow and overlap his lower lip. Now that he thought about it, he felt the hunger… his skin felt a little burned but otherwise he felt fine… but he wanted to feed. How was that even possible?! How-no why did he want to feed when he was in the afterlife?_

_None of this was making any sense to him at the moment but, it would have to do until he could figure out what was going on here._

_Soon, Naruto started to smell it… the scent of blood. It was a little old but he didn't care. It was something that he wanted. Eyes snapping open, red as the blood he so craved, Naruto turned his darkened gaze onto the dead animal that lied next to him before biting into its flesh and started to drink the very nectar that he had so craved for so long. It had been something he craved, something that he had wanted. As he drank, Naruto saw images flash through his mind, something that he has known for a while, were the memories that had imprinted into the blood as it went through the brain_

_Soon, the red glow of Naruto's eyes started to dim, and slowly it flushed away from his eyes as they returned to being ocean blue. Blinking slowly, Naruto looked around and frowned in confusion as he noticed that he was… in some kind of fuzzy barrier. "Where am I?" asked Naruto, not really expecting an answer from anyone though it seemed that he would end up getting just that._

_"You are still in the forest, but you're being protected by my tails from the sun. You truly are a fool to be out in the sun when you could have burned to ashes." Said the tiny fox that stared at Naruto with what seemed to have been a bored stare. Naruto glared at the fox, as if it thought that it was the big boss over him. This fox thought that he could decide what Naruto did with his life?!_

_"Shut up, you just prevented me from ending it!" shouted Naruto as he pushed himself up, only to fall back down. His body was far too weak to keep standing. Even with the little bit of blood that had been given to him, it just hadn't been enough for him to stay standing on his own two feet._

_The fox shook his head at Naruto, carefully, he moved toward the blonde vampire, making sure that his tails kept the barrier up to keep Naruto safe from the harsh sun's rays. "Just still, you're too weak to be getting up. From what I can see, you haven't had blood for a while young vampire. Are you really trying to end your life?"_

_"Shut up."_

_"No, answer me right now. Why are you trying to end your life." It wasn't a question anymore, it was a demand._

_Naruto looked at the fox's angry gaze before he turned away. "I'm sick of how my life revolves around blood, biting humans and the fear I see in people's faces. I'm a damn monster that only feels guilt and remorse. I'm… I'm sick of it." He whispered the last part, mostly to himself but that was to be expected, Naruto had seen how people's lives were when they were in fear, though sadly that fear was always directed at him. Not including the woman that he had fallen in love with, now he has to deal with the ever consuming guilt that held its icy grip over his heart._

_The fox let out a soft sigh as he said "you shouldn't allow that to bother you. That's just how you are, you can't fight your nature, but you can change your diet." As soon as he had heard that, Naruto looked up at the fox in shock. He could change his diet but… can't vampires only drink blood? How could he possibly change his diet in the first place? It wasn't like he was a human, humans could change what they eat, not vampires. The fox smiled a bit as he said "just drink the blood of animals. It may not be human blood but at least that way, you don't have to worry about killing humans."_

_How was that any different? Sure it was still blood but it was still killing an innocent… Animals may not seem it but they are truly innocent and had as many rights to life as humans. Sadly, there wasn't much of a choice was there? Sighing softly, the blonde vampire pushed himself to sit up as he breathed heavily. If he could, he'd be sweating right about now. Looking over at the fox, Naruto stared at him for a moment as he tried to think what he was to do next…_

_"You'll need a place to stay, be safe from the sun and come out at night to hunt for animals. This place is crawling with animals so you'll have food for a long time." Turning to the fox, Naruto just frowned for a moment. As if he was trying to figure out what this fox was trying to do. He didn't sense anything hostile about him. In fact, he sensed concern, and it was genuine. Looking away, the fox calmly said "I know the perfect place for you to live in. It's been abandoned for a while and no one bothers with it…"_

_Naruto frowned a little, a house that no one would bother with? That seemed like the perfect idea to him. Maybe then he could be left alone and just enjoy the rest of eternity. Sighing softly, the young man nodded before he lied back down to rest. He could still sense the sun beyond the barrier. It may have been best to just rest here before going out to this place that the fox mentioned. Turning to stare at the fox, Naruto asked "what's your name? My name is Naruto…"_

_"I'm Kurama. I'm a… guess you can call me a spiritual fox." He said with a small smile before lying down on the ground. Looks like they both would have to wait to get to the house for Naruto to rest and regain his strength._

_When the moon rose high into the air, Naruto and Kurama started to make their way to this house that Kurama had mentioned. Though, Naruto had a bit of difficulty with walking since he was still very weak. Kurama of course, had supported the blonde vampire with his now fully grown tails until they could get to this place. Naruto didn't know how far they had walked, though from what he did know was that the trees were denser here, so thick that it was amazing that anyone could get through here._

_Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked up at the sky and could faintly make out slivers of silver rays of the moon. Naruto had to admit, he loved the moons rays. Sighing softly, he kept on walking with Kurama through the dense trees. His body was still a little weak though at the moment he didn't really give a damn. All he cared about was to make his way to this place and feed on animal blood._

_"We're almost there Naruto, we're almost there…" was the last thing he heard before blacking out._

Naruto slowly started to open his eyes when he heard something knocking against the lid of his coffin. Frowning, he mumbled that he was opening the coffin and that they had to move away. Taking a deep breath, the young man opened up the door and frowned when he saw Kurama sitting there. It was rather strange that he would have a dream of how he met Kurama… and how Kurama had not only saved him, but brought him to this place.

Shaking his head, the blonde vampire pushed himself out of his coffin and started to make his way upstairs. He didn't know how long he had slept for though what he did know was that Hinata should be here soon. Closing his eyes, he had sensed that the sun was up still, so that meant he would have to wear his protective charm to not only hide his appearance but to protect him from the sun's rays.

"Naruto, are you okay? You were making weird sounds in your coffin… were you dreaming of Hinata?" Kurama asked as he walked alongside Naruto, though he had a big, yet very perverted grin on his face. If Naruto could blush, he would be red as an apple right about now. Rolling his eyes, the blonde vampire tried to ignore this fox. Sometimes he wondered how he could put up with this fox… and most of was it even worth it? "Come on Naruto, give me the juicy details."

"I didn't dream of Hinata. I had a dream of when we first met, of how you found me… Though, the more I think about it, the more I'm curious as to how you found me… no one had been following me." Naruto calmly said before turning his gaze to Kurama, wondering how the fox had found him though he couldn't really be sure as of yet.

Kurama seemed a little nervous to tell Naruto, so he was definitely hiding something. What that was, he couldn't really be sure as of yet but he had a feeling that it was something huge. "I was just wondering around in the forest and I saw you burning so… I used my tails to shield you." Naruto for some reason felt like there was something else, something more that Kurama wasn't telling him, though for the time being he wasn't going to push it.

Making his way to the hall, Naruto calmly asked "what why did you wake me?" He didn't really know why Kurama would want to wake him, though what he did know was that Kurama may have brought him something to snack on since he was going to need all the strength he could get with trying to spend some time with Hinata in case she cut herself from falling or something…

"Oh, Hinata came by; she's in the main hall waiting for you."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock before he glared at Kurama. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" seethed Naruto before he made his way to the main hall, hoping that Hinata hadn't been waiting for him for very long. As soon as he walked into the main hall, the vampire had stopped dead in his tracks. Hinata stood in the main hall, wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her hips perfectly though without it being too tight on her body and revealing too much. Her shirt was a soft pink that made her eyes seem brighter and… dare he say, more beautiful.

It was almost strange for Naruto to see a human as beautiful, at least since the last time he had been with a human. Trying to get himself to calm down, Naruto walked over to Hinata as he asked "have you waited long for me?" Seeing Hinata smiling up at him, she just shook her head; her blue locks bouncing from the movement and it made Naruto want to run his hand through those beautiful locks… What was happening to him?!

* * *

"Naruto, what era did you wake up in after becoming a vampire?" asked Hinata as they started to leave the mansion. It was a beautiful day that was for sure, though he wondered if just knowing the era would be enough to have him know who he was or where he came from.

Crossing his arms as Naruto started to alter his appearance as the red haired man Hinata had seen a few times at the café, he said "I remember it was the era of ninjas. I'm not sure what ear of that era though… It all seemed to have gone by so fast for me." Though to be honest, he had hoped that Hinata could find some kind of clue as to where he was from, who he was… and where he had belonged after all this time.

Hinata looked up at Naruto and gave him a soft smile. Naruto didn't know why Hinata would smile at him so much, was she just that pure of heart or was it something else? Turning his head away, the blonde vampire tried to keep his blue eyes focused on what was ahead of him, sadly it didn't seem that would work. Since, his gaze would always, always go back to Hinata as she started to run a hand through her soft blue locks. Damn it, he wanted to run his hand through her hair, he wanted to hold her, to hold her so close that he could feel every curve of her perfect body… _'Ah! Why am I thinking this!?'_ thought Naruto as his eyes widened in panic and held his head as if he was in pain.

"Are you okay Naruto? Do you want to sit down…?" asked Hinata with concern showing in both her voice, and her beautiful lavender coloured eyes. How was it that her concern brought a special warmth to his chest? Taking a deep breath, Naruto just nodded, as if telling Hinata that he was going to be fine, that all he needed was to keep moving… and, he couldn't help but think that maybe he should have had a bite before he left though he was just thankful that Hinata hasn't tripped or anything as of yet.

"Well, since you woke up in that era, we should head on toward the museum since I highly doubt that we could find anything through files." She laughed softly, not to be mean, but to help lighten up the mood. Naruto couldn't help but smile at that, Hinata really was an amazing woman… but did he have a right, any right, to stay by her side even if it was to protect her.

"A museum?" he asked with a hint of confusion, sure he had heard of them though wasn't really sure what was in them.

Smiling brighter, Hinata calmly said "well, a museum is where artefacts are of the way the world was before any of us were born. Such as dinosaurs or even how ninjas were. So if you were from that era, then maybe there is something there that we can find to help unlock your past." Naruto frowned in thought, hm… that would work. If he could, he just may find out about his past after all. Though for some reason, a voice deep within him was saying that he didn't want to remember… that it was best to forget everything and just live in this blissful ignorance…

Shaking his head, Naruto kept on walking with Hinata. Following her to where they had to go. He knew that this was his only chance. After that, he would have to focus on protecting Hinata from whatever dangers arose that would want to hurt her. Just thinking about it made him want to rip anyone apart. _'Wait, why did I think that? Why would I want to rip anyone apart for trying to hurt Hinata?'_ thought Naruto with a shake of his head before making his way to the museum.

Looking up, Naruto saw that the museum was a very tall looking building. Columns holding up the triangular roof as if to make sure that the roof would fall apart without it. The doors were, in a sense, very tall. He wondered if they could reach the roof if it wasn't for the fact that humans couldn't grow that tall. Shaking his head, Naruto looked a little more as he saw that the building was built from what he figured was sandstone, since the building reminded him of sand.

Turning his gaze to Hinata, he calmly asked "this the place?" He wasn't sure if this was really it, or just some random building. Either way, he just hoped that it was the very building that he had been wanting to see, that he would find something for the both of them to figure out his past together.

"Yup, this is it." Hinata said with a cherry tone.

Naruto nodded and started to make his way into the building with Hinata in tow. It almost seemed weird that he was leading since he knew nothing of this world. At least he didn't anymore, since this place had changed a lot since he had been human, or, since he had locked himself away in that mansion with Kurama as his only companion.

"Where is the ninja section?" asked Naruto.

"This way," said Hinata with a smile before grabbing Naruto's hand, letting her drag him to where they had to go. As Hinata dragged him, Naruto saw the many things that he thought would have been interesting for him… at least; they would have been if he wasn't so focused on the era of ninjas. Naruto knew that this was the last chance he was going to get since he knew nothing, or knew what more they would be searching for.

The blonde vampire looked ahead with the blue orbs of his eyes as he saw the sign above a door way saying 'Era of Ninjas'. That almost made him smile; at least not he would be able to know something. "Hinata, are you sure we can find something here?" asked Naruto with a hint of confusion and curiosity.

"I'm sure we will, you just have to wait is all Naruto. Just look around and maybe we can learn something. If you see something just call for me. I'll look on the left, you look on the right." Hinata said with a smile before letting go of his hand and went on to the left of the room. Maybe this would be enough; at least he was hoping that would be the case.

Walking around, Naruto saw the many weapons that great ninjas used. Katanas, kunais, shuriken, and to what he could guess were smoke bombs. Soon, his gaze came upon a special kunai. The kunais that he saw had three pointed blades instead of the usual one. The handle was thicker and it seemed a bit heavier than the standard kunai. Written on the handle was something that he could faintly make out. The words were a little worn from time and age, though he could only make out these words…

_Flying Thunder God Kunai._

Suddenly grabbing his head, Naruto felt like he was getting a headache. What was going on?! Why did this bring him such great amounts of pain? It felt like something was trying to rip his brain apart from the inside and it caused him great pain.

"Naruto?!" shouted Hinata as she rushed toward Naruto. He barely heard her; all he could focus on was the pain that tried to rip him apart. Feeling her hands on his forearm, Hinata pulled Naruto away from the kunai case and walked with him to the bench that resided in the museum. Taking deep breaths, Naruto held onto his head as the throbbing started to subside… damn that had been so weird… Did those kunais belong to him at some point? And if that was the case, why did it cause him pain?

"Naruto, what happened?" asked Hinata.

"I… I was…" He whispered, trying to get himself to relax, turning to stare at Hinata for a moment Naruto went back to explaining. "That one kunai… I feel like I've seen it before. I just wasn't sure, if it was mine or someone else's… Either way, it hurt like hell." Taking a deep breath, Hinata started to rub Naruto's back, hoping that would relax him.

"Naruto, I don't think those kunai belonged to you. They belonged to this guy in the painting." As soon as she had said that, Naruto blinked as he stared at her in confusion. So, did he know the guy in the painting? Shaking his head, Naruto had been about to ask Hinata what painting she had been talking about, though he found out that he didn't have to.

Hinata had grabbed Naruto's hand and walked with him to the painting. Of course, Naruto hadn't really been sure what to expect from all of this, all he did know was that this was going to be one hell of shellshock when he stared at the painting. Taking small steps, Naruto tried to prepare himself, tried to keep himself calm for when he saw this moment coming.

Keeping his eyes closed, Naruto tried to keep himself calm, tried to keep himself prepared for this if it was too much for him to handle. Wait, would this be too much for him? Or would this end up destroying his mind? "Hinata are you sure…?" asked Naruto, trying to see maybe he could back out of this. Maybe he wasn't ready for this, maybe he just was talking big and of course so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain he got when he stared at the kunai and read the seal that had been on its handle.

"Naruto, you have to see this… You… you just have to see this painting Naruto. It may spark something…" Hinata whispered softly, she held onto his hand, squeezing it for a moment as if to bring him a sense of peace. In a way, it did help him, Naruto did feel a little more relaxed though would it last is the only thing.

"Naruto, have you heard of 'Konoha's Yellow Flash' and 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero'?" asked Hinata.

Frowning a bit, now that Naruto thought about it, he had heard of them. Konoha's Yellow Flash was said to have been some kind of genius before he died. He had a wife and a son but nothing had been said as to what happened to that family. Many people had been sad that Konoha's Yellow Flash's line was gone, having ended when his son had died. As for his wife, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, it was said that she was a beautiful woman though she had one hell of a temper and, she had belonged to a clan that specialized in sealing jutsu, and that her clan had very long lives.

Though, what did this have to do with anything?

"Look…" whispered Hinata when they stopped in front of a painting.

When he opened his eyes, Naruto's vision was still a little blurred though as soon as his vision started to clear was when Naruto started to stare on in shock. There, in the painting stood three people. The one of the left was a man with spiky blond hair with two locks framing his face; his eyes shined a bright blue, almost like the ocean... He wore a blue long sleeved shirt, though the painting was from the waist up so he couldn't tell what the man was wearing for pants or even shoes for that matter.

Anyway, the one on the right was a beautiful woman with long red hair, beautiful violet coloured eyes that shined with love, joy and happiness. She wore a white short sleeved shirt, and what seemed like an overall dress that went over her shirt. The man and woman's hands resided on the figure in the middle that had confused him and caused a great amount of shock that went through his very core…

For, the person standing in the middle was a teenager with blonde spikey hair, blue eyes, a black shirt and a big grin on his face. If it wasn't for the marks on his face, Naruto didn't think that this would be possible, but it was. He only said these words… "That's me…" whispered Naruto.


End file.
